University of California • Berkeley
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THE WORKS
HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT.
THE WORKS
OF
HUBERT HOWE BANCROFT
VOLUME XX.
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA.
Vol. III. 1825-1840.
SAN FRANCISCO :
A. L. BANCROFT & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.
1885.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the Year 1885, by
HUBERT H. BANCROFT,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Mi Rights Reserved.
CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME.
CHAPTER I.
A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
1825.
Extrication of the Federal Constitution— Junta de Californias in Mexico
— Compania Asiatico-Mexicana — Sessions of the Diputacion — Eche-
andia Appointed Governor — Transfer of the Office at San Diego-
Biography of Don Luis Arguello — Echeandia's Companions — Pacheco,
Zamorano, and Ramirez^Herrera as Comisario de Hacienda — The
Missions — The Padres Refuse Allegiance to the Republic — The Dipu-
tacion on Secularization — Padre Duran as President — Mission Sup-
plies and Finance — Vessels on the Coast — Surrender of the Asia and
Constante — Morrell's Visit and Book — Commerce — Foreign Resi-
dents — A Rainy Season 1
CHAPTER II.
echeandia's rule— political affairs.
1826-1830.
National Measures, 182C — Junta de Fomento — Echcandia at San Diego —
Guerra for Congress, 1S27-8— Colonizati on Regulations of 1828 — Ter-
ritorial Diputacion, 1827 — Proposed Change of Name — Echeandia in
the North — Diputacion, 1828-30 — Election — Maitorena Sent to Con-
gress, 1829-30 — Acts of the Supreme Government — Padres as Ayu-
dante Inspector — Gomez as Asesor — California as a Fenal Colony —
Arrival of 130 Convicts — Carrillo Elected to Congress for 1831-2 —
Expulsion of Spaniards, 1827-30 — List of Spanish Residents — Eche-
andia's Appeals for Aid — His Resignation — Appointment of Antonio
Garcia — The Californias Separated — Manuel Victoria Appointed
Governor 31
CHAPTER III.
ECnEANDIA AND HERRERA — FINANCE — THE SOLIS REVOLT.
1826-1830.
Hard-times Items — Aid from Mexico — The Revenues— Comisario and
Habilitados — Secret Investigation —Suspension and Resignation —
Estrada, Vallejo, and Jimeno Casarin as Administrators — Revolt of
,-iii CONTENTS.
PAGE
1S2S— Revolt of 1829— Causes— Monterey Taken — Joaquin Solis
— Plan of November 15th — Argiiello Declines the Command — Solis
Marches South — Echeandia's Preparations — Revolt at Santa Barbara
— Bloodless Battles of Dos Pueblos and Cieneguita — Retreat of Solis
— Retaking of the Capital — Avila Captures Solis — Trial — The Span-
ish Flag — Banishment of Herrera and Twenty Conspirators — Finan-
cial Affairs in 1829-30 • 56
CHAPTEE IV.
ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES— MISSION" AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
1826-1830.
Mission Prefect and Presidents — The Question of Supplies — The Oath of
Allegiance — Sarria's Arrest — Friars Still Masters of the Situation —
Council at San Diego — Southern Padres Willing — Northern Padres
Refuse — Flight of Ripoll and Altimira — The Friars as Spaniards —
Echeandia's Conciliatory Policy — Petitions of the People — Exile of
Martinez — Progress towards Secularization — Mexican Policy — Diffi-
culties — Junta of April 1826 — Decree of July — Experimental Free-
dom — Mission Schools and Lands — Plan of 1829-30 — Approval of the
Diputacion — Action in Mexico — Indian Affairs -Sanchez's Expedi-
tion — Vallejo's Campaign against Estanislao — Northern Fort — Sea-
sons 87
CHAPTER Y.
ECHEANDEA'S RULE — MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
1826-1830.
Vessels of 1826 — Revenue Rules — HartnelPs Business — Hawaiian Flag —
Cooper and the Rover — Lawsuit with Argiiello — Beechey's Visit in
the Blossom — Books Resulting — Trading Fleet of 1827 — Reglamentos
on Liquors and Live-stock — Embarrassment of McCulloch, Hartnell,
& Co.— Cunningham at Santa Catalina — Visit of Duhaut-Cilly and
Botta— Maritime Affairs of 1828— Restrictions — Smuggling— Affair
of the Franklin — Cannon-balls — Affair of the Karimoko — Vessels of
1829— Custom-house— Arrival of the Broohline— Gale's Correspond-
ence — Raising the Stars and Stripes — Lang at San Diego — The
Santa Barbara Built in California — Ships and Trade of 1830— List of
Vessels, 1825-30 11(5
CHAPTER VI.
OVERLAND — SMITH AND PATTIE — FOREIGNERS.
1826-1830.
The Eastern Frontier— The Trappers— First Visitors by the Overland
Route— Jedediah Smith, 1826-8— Errors Corrected— Original Docu-
ments -The Sierra Nevada Crossed and Re-crossed— First Entry of
CONTENTS. ix
PAC>E
the Hudson's Bay Company — McLeod and Ogden — Pattie's Visit and
Imprisonment, 1828-30 — Flint's Narrative — Truth and Fiction — A
Tour of Vaccination — ' Peg-leg ' Smith — Trapping License of Exter
and Wilson — Vaca from New Mexico — Ewing Young and his Hunt-
ers from New Mexico — Foreign Residents — Annual Lists of New-
comers — Regulations on Passports and Naturalization 150
CHAPTER VII.
BULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
1831.
Appointment of Victoria — Arrival — Echeandfa's Delay — Command Sur-
rendered — Beginning of a Quarrel — Golpe de Estado — Schemes of
Padres and Party — Victoria's Address to the People — Charges against
the Governor — Refusal to Convoke the Diputacion — Memorials and
Threats — Victoria's Manifiesto — Replies of Bandini and Pico — Ad-
ministration of Justice — The Death Penalty — Case of Atanasio — The
Robbers Aguilar and Sagarra — Execution of Rubio — Exile of Abel
Stearns — Victoria and Alcalde Duarte of San Jose" — Trouble at Los
Angeles — Exile of Jose 1 A. Carrillo — Jos6 M. Padres Banished — Plots
of Carrillo, Bandini, and Pico — Pronunciamiento of San Diego —
Echeandia in Command — Angeles Revolts — Fight near Cahuenga —
Death of Pacheco and Avila — Victoria Sent to San Bias — Rodrigo
del Pliego — Action in the North — Carrillo's Efforts in Congress 181
CHAPTER VIII.
AN INTERREGNUM — ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO.
1832.
The Diputacion at Los Angeles — Action against Victoria — Attempts to
Make Pico Governor — Echeandia 's Opposition — A Foreign Company
at Monterey — Zamorano's Revolt — A Junta at the Capital — The
News at San Diego — Sessions of the Diputacion — Los Angeles
Deserts Echeandia — Warlike Preparations — Ibarra at Angeles — Bar-
roso at Paso de Bartolo — Indians Armed — Compact between Eche-
andia and Zamorano — The Territory Divided — Final Sessions of the
Diputacion — The Avila Sedition — Who is Governor? — Affairs in
Mexico — Carrillo's Efforts and Letters — Choice of a Governor — Jose
Figueroa Appointed — Instructions — Mishaps of a Journey— Mutiny
at Cape San Xiicas— Waiting for a Ruler 216
CHAPTER IX.
FIGUEROA'S BCTLE — HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
1S33-1S34.
Arrival of Figueroa — Primitive Printing — Imaginary Difficulties — Am-
nesty to Rebels — Echeandia and Zamorano — Biography of Echeandia
CONTENTS.
PAGE
— Bandini Elected to Congress— No Sessions of the Diputacion in
1833 — The Northern Frontier — Figueroa Resigns — A Warning —
Mutiny at San Francisco — The Diputacion in 1834 — Address by the
Governor — Legislative Affairs — The First Book Printed in California
— lleglamento— Petaluma and Santa Rosa — Santa Anna y Farias —
Conspiracy of Guerra and Duran — New Election — Events in Mexico
Padres and his Schemes — Colonization — Hijar as Gefe Politico —
Colony Organized — Compafiia Cosmopolitana — Political Schemes —
The March to Tepic — Voyage of the Natalia and Morelos — Re-
ception of the Colony at San Diego and Monterey — Wreck of the
Natalia — Authorities 240
CHAPTER X.
FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ — THE COLONY.
1834-1835.
Santa Anna Orders Figueroa not to Give up the Command to Hijar —
Quick Time from Mexico — Hijar Demands the Mission Property —
His Instructions — Action of the Diputacion — Lost Prestige of Padres
— Bando — Controversy — Bribery — Submission of the Directors — Aid
to the Colonists — At Solano — New Quarrel — Rumored Plots — Revolt
of Apalategui and Torres — Pronunciamiento of the Sonorans — Sur-
render — Legal Proceedings — Figueroa 's Orders — Seizure of Arms at
Sonoma — Arrest of Verduzco and Lara — Exile of Hijar and Padres —
Figueroa's Manifiesto — Sessions of the Diputacion — Carrillo in Con-
gress — Los Angeles Made Capital — Foundation of Sonoma — Death of
Figueroa — Life and Character — Castro Gefe Politico — Gutierrez
Comandante General — Estudillo's Claims 270
Chapter xi.
MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
1831-1833.
Echcandia's Plan of 1830 — Decree of 1831 — The Comisionados — Views'
of the Padres — Carrillo's Efforts in Mexico — The Pious Fund —
Events of 1832 — Diputacion and Friars — Echeandia's Reglamento —
Notes of Padre Sanchez — Lachelot and Short — Exiles from the
Hawaiian Islands — New Missionaries in 1833 — The Zacatecanos —
Division of the Missions— Troubles in the North — Flogging Neo-
phytes—Supplies for San Francisco — Misconduct of Padre Mcrcado
hi Rafael Massacre of Gentiles — Figueroa's Instructions on
Secularization — Echcandia's Regulations — Figueroa's Policy — Ex-
periments in the South— Provisional Rules— Emancipation in Prac-
Projects of President Duran — Figueroa's Report against Seeu-
in Decrees of 1833— President and Prefect 301
CONTENTS. xi
CHAPTER XII.
MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
1834-1835.
PAGE
Emancipation — Indian Pueblos — The Diputacion — Figueroa's Policy —
Mexican Law of April 1834 — Provisional Regulations of August 9th
— Hijar's Instructions — Their Meaning — The Reglamento in Practice
— Local Results — Ten Missions Secularized — Views of the Padres —
Supplementary Regulations of Nov. 4th — Destruction of Mission
Property by the Friars — Slaughter of Cattle — Stipends in 1835 —
Mission Supplies — Mission Ranchos — Garcia Diego's Suggestions —
Local Items of 1835 — Six Missions Secularized — The Fernandinos
Content — Mexican Decree of Nov. 9th — Mission Statistics, 1831-5 —
Seasons — Pestilence — Indian Affairs, 1831-5 339
CHAPTER XIII.
MARITIME, COMMERCIAL, AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS.
1831-1835.
Annual Lists of Vessels on the Coast — Revenue Statistics — Smuggling
Items — Seizure of theLoriot — Commercial Regulations — Victoria and
Bandini — Contraband — Ports — Bandini and Angel Ramirez — A Dis-
appointed Inspector of Customs — Fur Trade — Salt — Abel Stearns'
Operations at San Pedro — Treasury Officials — Comisarios — Bandini,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Estrada, and Herrera — Minor Revenue Officers —
Local Items — Financial Correspondence — Statistics — Municipal
Funds — Taxation — Tithes — Plan of Ways and Means — Alphabetical
List of Vessels 303
CHAPTER XIY.
PIONEERS AND FOREIGN RELATIONS.
1831-1835.
Overland Immigration — New Mexican Route — Wolf skill's Party — Yount
and Burton — Jackson's Company — Warner — Ewing Young's Second
Visit — Carson, Williams, Sparks, and Dye — Graham and Leese —
Across the Sierra — Captain Joe Walker — Nidever — Bonneville's
Narrative — Hudson's Bay Company Trappers — Otter-hunting in Cal-
ifornia — New Mexican Horse-thieves — Chino Pando — Foreign Policy
— Fears — Offer of Purchase by U. S. — Spaniards — Pioneer Names —
Those Who Came before 1830 — New-comers of Each Year —Alpha-
betical Lists — Douglas the Botanist — Thomas Coulter's Visit — Mori-
neau's Memoir — Visit of Hall J. Kelley — John Coulter's Lies — Dana's
Two Years Before the Mast , 385
xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE XV.
RULE OF GUTIERREZ AND CHICO.
1836.
PAG 1 ?!
Castro Transfers the Gefatura to Gutierrez — A Quiet Rule — Centralist
Precautions — The Capital — Vigilance Committee at Los Angeles-
Shooting of a Man and Woman — Bandini's Plan at San Diego — Ap-
pointment and Arrival of Governor Chico — Inaugural Address —
Swearing of the Bases — Chico's Orders — Address — Sessions of the
Junta Departamental — Agent for Mexico — Chico in the South — Be-
ginning of Troubles — Calif ornian Views of Chico's Character — Dona
Cruz, the Governor's Mistress — Feeling of Foreigners — Chico and
Stearns — Revolution Planned — Results of the Vigilantes — Chico and
Duran — Amours of Castaiiares and Dona Ildefonsa — Chico and Es-
trada — Excitement at the Capital — Chico Leaves the Country 414
CHAPTEE XYI.
GUTIERREZ, CASTRO, AND ALVARADO — REVOLUTION.
1836.
Second Rule of Gutierrez — His Policy and Character — Vague Charges —
Quarrel with the Diputacion — Popular Feeling — Causes of Revolt —
Juan B. Alvarado — Revenue Quarrel — Another Version — Prepara-
tions at San Juan — Californians in Arms — Graham's Riflemen — Siege
of Monterey — Documentary Record — Surrender — The Mexicans
Exiled — Biography — Gutierrez — Castillo Negrete — Herrera — Muiioz
Navarrete — The Estradas — Rule of Jose" Castro — Plan of Conditional
Independence — Lone-star Flag — The Diputacion as a Constituent
Congress — Vallejo as Comandante General — Revenue — Civic Militia
— Alvarado as Governor — Division of the State — Commerce — The
New Regime — Affairs in the North , 445
CHAPTEE XVIt,
ALVAKADO'S RULE — TROUBLES IN THE SOUTH.
1836-1837.
Causes of Southern Opposition — Sectional, Local, and Personal Prejudice
— The News at Angeles — San Diego Aroused — Plan of November —
Counter-plan of Santa Barbara — New Ayuntamientos and New Plan
— Letters of Prominent Men — Castillo Negrete — Osio — Bandini— Pio
Pico— Carlos Carrillo— Alvarado in the South — The Barbarenos Sub-
mit— Angelinos Obstinate— Dieguiuos Patriotic but not Warlike —
Defensive Measures— Campaign and Treaty of San Fernando — Alva-
rado at Los Angeles— Castro's Arrival— Another Plan — Speeches —
Fears of Attack from Sonora — Castro at San Diego — Diputacion Sus-
tains Alvarado — Plan de Gobicrno — Intrigues of Osio and Pico — Los
Angeles Submits— Governor's Manifiesto of May— Return to Monte-
rey—Events in the North, January to May 478
CONTENTS. xiii
CHAPTER XVIII
BAN DIEGO PLAN — ALVARADO AND CARRILLO,
1837.
PAGE
Bandini's Movements — Plots on the Frontier — Zamorano, Portilla, and
Estrada — Plan of May — Seizure of Los Angeles — Don Juan at San
Diego — The Army at Angeles and San Fernando — Castillero's Com-
mission — Oath of Centralism in the South — Alvarado at Monterey
and Santa Clara — Rumors from Mexico — Ramirez Revolt — Monterey
Taken and Retaken — Alvarado Returns to the South — Treaty with
Castillero — Alvarado Swears to the Constitutional Laws — His Mo-
tives — Diputacion at Santa Barbara — Castillero Sent to Mexico —
The California — Vallejo Refuses to Accept Centralism — Carlos Car-
rillo's Appointment — Alvarado's Position — Carrillo Assumes Office
at Angeles — San Diego Obedient — Not so Sta Barbara — Letters of
Vallejo and Alvarado 515
CHAPTER XIX.
DON JUAN BAUTISTA AND DON CARLOS.
1838.
Don Carlos Closes Northern Ports — Sends for Mexican Troops — Castro's
Plan — A Spurious Appointment — Carrillo's Letters — Military Prepa-
rations — Castafieda at San Buenaventura — Santa Barbara Threatened
— News from Mexico — Battle of San Buenaventura — Los Angeles
Taken — Alvarado at San Fernando — Don Carlos at San Diego — A
New Plan — Tobar in Command — Campaign of Las Flores — Treaty —
Negotiations at San Fernando — Escape of the Pretender — Vallejo
Favors Don Carlos — News by the Catalina — Arrival of Castillero —
Recognition of Alvarado and Vallejo — An Island for Carrillo — Aba-
jeiios Despondent — Arribeiios Triumphant — Re-arrest of Cariillos and
Picos 545
CHAPTER XX
ALVARADO'S RULE — POLITICAL EVENTS,
1839-1840.
Governor and General at Santa Barbara — Carlist Prisoners — Don Carlos
Yields — End of the Conflict — Military Discipline — Presidial Com-
panies — Diputacion as a Junta at Monterey— Division of California
into Districts and Partidos — Prefects — Plots of Ramirez and Padre
Mercado — Life of Angel Ramirez — Sedition at Branciforte — Flag Tu-
mult at Los Angeles — Castillero Elected to Congress — Vocales Elected
— War with France — Jimeno Acting Governor — Alvarado Married
by Proxy — Arrival of the California — Alvarado Appointed Governor
— Cosme Pefla — Castaneda Sent to Mexico — Annals of 1840 — Sessions
of the Junta Departamental — Tribunal de Justicia — Monterey the
Capital — Conspiracy of Carrillo and Gonzalez 579
xiv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXI.
LOCAL ANNALS OF SAN DIEGO DISTRICT.
1831-1840.
PAGE
Military Commandants — Decrease and Disappearance of the Presidial
Organization — Fort and Other Buildings — Population — Private Ran-
chos — Summary of Events — Politics and Indian Depredations —
Treasure on the Colorado — Civil Government — Ayuntamiento —
Criminal Record — San Diego Mission — Padre Martin — Statistics —
Secularization — Ortega as Administrator — San Luis Rey — Padre
Peyri— A Prosperous Mission — Slaughter of Cattle— Chronologic
Happenings — Pio Pico in Charge — Hartnell's Investigation — Mission
Ranchos — San Juan Capistrano — Statistical View — Annals of Eman-
cipation — Administration of the Arguellos — The Ex-neophyte Pue-
blos of San Juan, San Dieguito, Las Flores, and San Pascual 608
CHAPTER XXII.
LOCAL ANNALS OF LOS ANGELES DISTRICT.
1831-1840.
A Centre of Political Agitation — Chronologic Summary and Index — Local
Occurrences — Indian Hostilities — Day and Stearns — Vigilance Com-
mittee — Sectional Warfare — Carrillo's Capital — Tumult of the Flag
— Arrest of Foreigners — Increase of Population — Private Ranchos —
Ayuntamiento and Municipal Affairs— Criminal Record — A Race —
The Prefecture — Pefia, Tapia, and Arguello — Port of San Pedro — San
Gabriel — Padres Boscana and Sanchez — Statistics — Secularization — •
Events — Bandini's Reforms — San Fernando Rey — Father Cabot — A
Prosperous Mission — Antonio del Valle'as Comisionado — Chronolo-
gic Record 629
CHAPTER XXIII.
LOCAL ANNALS OF SANTA BARBARA DISTRICT.
1831-1840.
Gain in Population — Presidial Organization — Military Items — Summary
of Events — Santa Barbara in the Political Controversies — Chico and
Du ran— Municipal Affairs— Official List— Sub-prefecture — Grants of
Private Ranchos— Santa Barbara Mission— Statistical View— Annals
of Secularization — San Buenaventura — Fathers Sutler, Uria, and For-
tuni — Population, Agriculture, and Live-stock — Majordomos and
Administrators— Santa Ines— Father Arroyo de la Cuesta — Statistics
of Decadence— A Gain in Cattle— Moderate Prosperity— Local Hap-
penings — La Purisima Conccpcion — Secularization — Inventories 649
CONTENTS. xv
CHAPTER XXIV.
LOCAL ANNALS OF MONTEREY DISTRICT,
1831-1840.
PAGE
Population — Visits and Descriptions— Summary and Index of Events —
Military Record — Municipal Affairs and Administration of Justice
— Prefecture — Criminal Record — Private Ranchos — Mission San Car-
los — San Luis Obispo — Padre Gil y Taboada — Statistics of Decline —
San Miguel — Padre Juan Cabot — Population and Property — San
Antonio — Secularization — Mercado's Complaints — Hartnell's Inspec-
tion — La Soledad — Padre Sarria — Inventories of Live-stock and
Crops — San Juan Bautista or San Juan de Castro — Padres and Neo-
phytes — Mission Estate — Emancipation of the Indians — Pueblo and
Capital of the District — Santa Cruz, or Piteblo de Figueroa — Villa
de Branciforte G67
CHAPTER XXV.
LOCAL ANNALS OF SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT*.
1831-1840.
Gain in Population — Number of Inhabitants in California, North and
South — Summary of San Francisco Events — Military Affairs — Com-
pany Transferred to Sonoma— Pueblo and Ayuntamiento — Granting
of Lots — Later Litigation — Growth of Yerba Buena — Richardson,
Leese, and Spear — Private Ranchos of the District — San Francisco
Mission — San Rafael — Padre Amor6s' Map of Mission Lands — San
Francisco Solano — Pueblo of Sonoma — General Vallejo's Achieve-
ments in the Frontera del Norte — San Jose" Mission — A Prosperous
Establishment — Santa Clara — Padres Viader and Moreno — Pueblo
de San Jose" de Guadalupe de Alvarado — Population — Municipal
Affairs and List of Officials — Summary of Events G98
Pioneer Register and Index. Tabbo!' to 'Hyde' 733
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA.
CHAPTER I.
A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
1825.
Ratification of the Federal Constitution — Junta de Californias in
Mexico — Compania Asiatico-Mexicana — Sessions of the Diputa-
cion — echeandia appointed governor — transfer of the office
at San Diego — Biography of Don Luis Arguello — Echeandia's
Companions — Pacheco, Zamorano, and Ramirez — Herrera as Com-
isario de Hacienda — The Missions — The Padres Refuse Allegiance
to the Republic — The Diputacion on Secularization— Padre Dr-
ran as President — Mission Supplies and Finance — Vessels on the
Coast — Surrender of the 'Asia 'and ' Constante ' — Morrell's Visit
and Book — Commerce— Foreign Residents — A Rainy Season.
In the preceding volume I have completed the an-
nals of California as a province of Spain and of the
Mexican empire to the year 1824. In the present
volume I continue its history as a territory and depart-
ment of the Mexican republic to 1840. But while
1825-40 are the chronological limits assigned, it has
been found inconvenient, as already explained, to make
the subdivisions of time and topics agree exactly.
Local annals have been continued in an earlier volume
to 1830; herein they are completed for another decade,
and the regular thread of political history is followed
to 1840; but the institutional history for 188G-40,
including some important phases of foreign relations, is
necessarily left for the first six chapters of volume iv.
The leading features here presented are the develop-
VOL. III. 1
2 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
ment of republicanism, the downfall of the missions,
revolutionary movements, the first overland explo-
rations, growth of foreign influence, the up-building
of commercial industry, and the complicated series
of political and sectional controversies. At the end of
the volume I continue alphabetically the biographical
register of pioneers begun in volume ii.
Early in 1825 Governor Argiiello received the
federal constitution of the Mexican republic adopted
by congress October 4, 1824, and addressed to the
states and territories on the 6th. It is not necessary
to analyze this document here. By it Alta California
became a territory, lacking the population for a state;
entitled to a diputado in congress, but without the
forty thousand inhabitants requisite to give him a
vote; yet capable of being erected into a state by acb
of congress. This organic law made no provision for
the government of the territories ; and I know not ex-
actly what authority the president had for appointing
a governor and allowing the diputacion to subsist; or
what authority congress had to make laws on the sub-
ject; or further, on what authority the two Califor-
nias were immediately united in one territory, or at
least put under one governor. The constitution was
similar to that of the United States of America. 1
Before noting the reception of the constitution in
the north, it is well to glance at subsequent acts of the
national government in behalf of California down to
the end of 1825 — and briefly, for in Mexico but slight
1 Mexico, Constitution Federal tie los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, sancionada
por el Cow/reso Genercd Constituyente el 4 de Octubre de 18,24- Mexico, 1824,
lGmo, 31. xviii. 02 p. 21. 3 p. ; with at the end the following: Mexico, Acta
ConntUutiva de la Federation Mexicana. 31 de Enero, 1824. Mexico, 1824.
lGmo, 12 p. There are other editions of Loth documents. In the Acta the
division into states and territories had been different, the two Californias being
one territory. There is no evidence that the Acta reached California before
the eonstitution. Among the signers of the constitution there appears no
diputado for Alta California, though Baja California was represented by Man-
ihI Ortiz de la Torre. Gov. Argiiello understood Cal. as a territory to be
attached to the state of Mexico. Dent Rec, MS., i. 120: Dcpt St. Pap. Ana.,
MS., i. 82-4. L F J
JUNTA DE FOMENTO. 3
attention was paid to this distant frontier, either in
this or any other year. The first president did well
enough, however, at the beginning, for he not only
appointed a ruler, with a superintendent of territorial
finances, but he sent troops, arms, supplies, and even
a little money. I have noticed the lack of any con-
stitutional provision for territorial government; but to
aid the president in this respect a special board, or
council, the 'junta de fomento de Californias,' was or-
ganized. 2
In a note I have given the titles of this junta's re-
ports. Ex-governor Sola was a member, though not
a very prominent one. None of the plans ever at-
tained to the dignity of law, but each had an influence
2 This junta was dissolved at the end of 1827. It had ten members, in
whom there were frequent changes, the following list including all that served
in the order of their appointment: Mariano Bonilla, Pablo V. Sola, Jose Ign.
Ormaechea, Mariano Dominguez, Tomas Salgado, Francisco de P. Tamariz,
Manuel Ibarra, Francisco Cortina, Ignacio Cubas, Juan J. Espinosa de loa
Monteros, Jose Mariano Almanza, Francisco Fagoaga, Alejo Garcia Conde,
Carlos M. Bustamante, Servando Mier, Isidro Icaza, Diego Garcia Conde, Pe-
dro Cardenas, Juan Francisco Azcarate, Tomas Suria, sec'y, Crecenio Suarez,
Bec'y.
The various reports of this body were printed in Mexico, 1827, under the
following title: Junta de Fomento de Californias — Coleccion de los principales
trabajos en que se ha ocupado le Junta nombrada para meditar y proponer al
Supremo Gobierno los medios mas necesarios para promoter el progreso de la
cultura y civilization de los territorios dz laAlta y de la Bqja California. Alio
de 1S27. This collection includes the following documents: Dictdmen que did
la Junta, etc., sobre las instruction es que para el Gefe superior Politico. Dated
Jan. 3, 1825. 1G pages, 8vo; Plan para el Arreglo de las Misionesde los terri-
torios de la Alta y de la Baja California. Aprii 6, 1825, lip.; Plande Colon-
ization Estrangera (subtitle — Reglamento d que debe sujetarse la colonization,
etc.), dated April 24, 1825, 8 p., with a diagram; Plan de Colonization de
Nacionales para los territorios, etc. (subtitle — Reglamento para la coloniza-
tion por familias de los Estados Federados de Mexico, en los territorios de
Californias), dated May 30, 1825, 18 p., 3 sheets, with a diagram; Plan Polit-
ico Mercantil para el mas pronto Fomento de las Californias, including 1st,
Correspondence Feb. -July 1825; 2d, Proyecto para el Esiablecimiento de una
compaiiia de comercio directo con el Asia y mar Patifico, cuyo punta ce'ntrico debe
eer Monterey, capital de la Alta California, la cual sera conocida baja el nombre
de Compahia Asidtico- Mexicana, Protectoradel Fomento de la Peninsula de. Cal-
ifornias. Presented to the president by its author, Francisco de Paula Tamariz,
Dec. 14, 1825, 14 p.; 3d, Proyecto de Reglamento en Grandepara el EstaLlcti-
mientode la Compjauia Asidtico- Mexicana. Dec. 14, 1825, 18 p. (numbered 24);
Iniciativa de Ley que propone la Junta para el mejor arreglo del gobierno de h>s
terrUorios de Californias. Dated May 12, 1827; including a Subdivision de
los territorios de la Alta y de la Baja California en cuatrodistritos, of June 26,
182G; and the final brief report of the junta announcing the close of its labors
on Aug. 31, 1827. 41 p.
And finally — Lista de los asuntos comprendidos en este libro. 1 leaf.
4 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
on legislation in behalf of California. Several of the
reports, or parts of the same, relating to special topics
of government, colonization, and mission policy, will
require notice elsewhere, and may therefore be briefly
disposed of here.
Unfortunately the instructions to Governor Eche-
andia, on which the junta reported January 3, 1825,
are not extant. In the suggestions made, especial im-
portance is attached to the obtaining of accurate in-
formation about the country, its people, and its pro-
ductions; and it is evident from the allusions to Viz-
caino, Venegas, the Sutil y 3£exicana, Humboldt's
works, etc., that the members had no idea of the fresh
and complete sources of information accessible in the
form of missionary and other official reports. There
is also a noticeable confusion between the two Califor-
nias. Great circumspection and careful instructions
were recommended on the mission problem and Indian
policy, subjects which must be treated with much deli-
cacy to avoid trouble until a radical reform could be
effected by means of definite laws. The junta ex-
pressed some very wise views, and showed a clear
appreciation of the difficulties to be overcome, leaving,
however, the ways and means of overcoming them
mostly to a subsequent report of April Gth, which
will be noticed in another chapter. In the matter of
distributing lands, it was thought that the governor
should confine his immediate attention to investigation
and reports on the actual condition of the territories.
The subject of foreign relations was believed to require
serious consideration, with particular reference to pos-
sible encroachments of Russians and Americans on the
north. There was yet some doubt whether the boun-
dary of the forty-second parallel had been recognized by
Mexico, but it was necessary at all hazards to prevent
any passing of that line; and in this connection a naval
force for the upper coast was recommended as of ur-
gent necessity. Particularly was the attention of the
government called to the prospective importance of
PLANS FOR CALIFORNIAS. 5
the northern province, both by reason of its varied
products and of its frontier position. 3
The plan of April 21st for foreign colonization may
be disposed of, since I have no space to give the doc-
ument in full, with the remark that it was utilized by
the government in preparing the regulations of 1828,
in which many of its twenty-eight articles were more
or less fully. embodied. 4 To a great extent the same
remark may be applied to the plan of May 30th for
national colonization or settlement by Mexicans. But
this plan contained certain elements intended for the
special benefit of the Californias, and therefore not in-
cluded in the general regulations which applied to all
'Mexican territory. It was proposed not only to grant
lands to Mexican colonists, but to pay the expenses of
their journey, a daily ration and monthly sum of three
or four dollars to each family for three years, besides
furnishing live-stock and tools; or in case the settler
were not a farmer, he was to receive expenses of the
journey, necessary tools, a house lot, and rations for one
year. This aid it was thought might be furnished
without burden to the treasury, by utilizing the ac-
cumulations of mission capital. It was deemed desir-
able to favor settlements on the coast islands; and to
set apart one of them as a penal colony, not for Mexico,
but for California. 5
Another scheme of the junta, though pertaining to
commerce, may as well be mentioned here, since it
never went into practical effect. It was a politico-
mercantile plan for the organization of a Compailia
3 Jan. 6, 1825, Jos6 Arguello wrote to Captain Guerra from Guadalajara
that a board had been established in Mexico to make regulations for Cal.
Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 97. The dictdmen, so far as it relates to Indian policy,
is incidentally quoted by Manuel Castanares in an address of March 30, 1844,
to Congress. Castanares, Col. Doc., 12, 14, 50. Both Alvarado, Hist. Cal,
MS., i. 122-3, 233-6, and-Vallejo, Hist. Cal, MS., i. 299-300, speak of Sola as
the leading spirit of the junta, which devised many liberal and enthusiastic
measures without the slightest idea as to where the money was to come from.
' Fifty years later,' says Alvarado, ' in the hands of energetic men backed by
coin, some of these plans might have proved successful.'
4 See chap. ii. this vol. for reglamento of 1828.
5 There are several other items, but as the recommendations were never
adopted, it seems unnecessary to notice them.
G A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
Asiatico-Mexicana, protective of Californian industrial
development. Monterey was to be a grand commer-
cial centre; and not only was California to be saved
from all possibility of foreign aggression, but the whole
trade of the Pacific was to be wrested from American
and English hands. The author of the project, Ta-
mariz, aimed at a revival of the old Philippine trade,
with vastly augmented facilities and profits; and he
pictured California in glowing colors as a veritable
paradise abounding in all good things, and better
fitted than any other spot on earth for its grand des-
tiny. " Fortunate the Californians in the midst of the
promised land; happy the provinces that adjoin that
land; lucky even the hemisphere that contains it,"
writes the enthusiastic Mexican in substance page
after page. The scheme was a grand one on paper —
too grand to go any further; for though approved by
the famous junta, and favored apparently by president,
cabinet, and congress, it was never heard of so far as I
know after 1827. 6
In addition to the acts of the president and junta
de fomento, there is nothing to be noted bearing on
my present topic, beyond a few minor routine commu-
nications of the ministers in the different departments,
in one of which the Californians were showered with
flattery, even if they got no more substantial tokens
of attention. 7
6 - The reglamento is copied in full by Vallejoin his Hist. Cal., MS., i. 300-
10, from an original formerly in the possession of David Spence. The com-
pany is also mentioned in Castaiiares, Col. Doc, 50. It seems useless to give
the details of such a plan ; some of the leading points are as follows: Capital,
$4,000,000 in 2,000 shares, 50 of which were to be taken by the Mexican gov-
ernment, and 50 reserved for Cal. until she was able to pay for them. Term
of existence, 10 years. The president of Mexico to preside at meetings. The
company to have privileges in the matter of paying duties ; to be preferred as
sellers and buyers ; to have a monopoly of fisheries and pearl-diving against
foreigners; but had to bring settlers free to Cal., aid in the suppression of
smuggling, etc.
7 Californians are lovers of order and justice, 'compensating with these vir-
tues for the influence which in other communities would be the effect of law
B 1 1 < 1 authority. ' ' They have always shown a strong attachment to the supreme
powers, and given constant evidence with ardent fidelity that they are, and
glory in being, excellent Mexicans; and their benem^rito gefepolitico Argiiello
answers in his la3t communications for rood order and strict administration
CONSTITUTION RATIFIED. 7
On receipt of the constitution, Arguello at once sum-
moned the diputados to assemble. The rivers were so
swollen by the rains that the southern members could
not come; but on the 26th of March the four Castros,
with the president and secretary, met to ratify the
new organic law of the nation. The document was
read by Secretary Torre, and the oath was taken by
governor and diputados. Then the constitution was
read again in the plaza, and Argiiello administered
the oath to the garrison drawn up under arms, and to
the assembled citizens of all classes. A salute of ar-
tillery, and the usual shouts of acclamation, with ring-
ing of bells, repeated for three days, marked the act;
but for the first time on such an occasion there was no
mass, or sermon, or other religious ceremony, for Pre-
fect Sarria declined to sanction republicanism. On
the 28th of March Arguello forwarded copies of the
constitution to the different presidios and pueblos, at
each of which it was ratified with appropriate cer-
emonies before the end of May. At San Francisco
Padre Estenega conducted the customary religious
services, though it is not certain that he took the
oath. At San Diego, as at Monterey, the padres re-
fused to take any part in the ratification. At other
places there is no record respecting the friars' action.
Thus California become formally a territory of the
Mexican republic. 8
of justice, even in their actual condition.' Mexico, Mem. Justicia, 1826, p. 6.
General information on finances of California, and relief sent from Mexico in
1824-5, in Mexico, Mem. Hacienda, 1826, p. 27. Aug. 6th, Minister Alaman
orders gef e politico to report on the suspension of the assembly, and to propose
an administrative system. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., iii. 9.
8 1 shall have more to say on the action of the friars. Action of the dip-
utacion March 26th, in Leg. Rec. , MS. , i. 41-3. March 28th, Arguello sends out
the new constitution to be ratified, and orders all copies of the old Spanish con-
stitution to be collected. Dept Rec, MS., i. 116; St. Pap., Sac, MS., xiv. 37.
Apr. 22d, constitution received at S. Francisco, and will be published on Sun-
day. St. Rap., Sac, MS., xix. 36. May 1st, comandante describes the cere-
mony, which took place Apr. 24th. The troops after three days were permitted
to amuse themselves, $2 being given to each private and $3 to each corporal.
Id. , xiv. 41-2. April 30th, swearing of allegiance at Los Angeles, where, on
petition of the citizens, the ayuntamiento, with the approval ofthe diputados,
Palomares and Carri lo, set at liberty a prisoner, Juan Jose Higuera. Orig-
inal record in Doc. Hist. Cal, MS., iv. 739, 74.1. May 1st, Comandante Ruiz
8 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
A final meeting of the diputacion was held April
7th, when the majority were in favor of punishing
recalcitrant friars by taking from them the manage-
ment of the mission temporalities, 9 and then on May
2d the sessions were suspended by the governor, until
new instructions could be obtained from national au-
thorities. His reason for this action was that the term
for which the body had been organized according to
the Spanish constitution had now expired, and the
new constitution made no provision for a territorial
diputacion. 10
General Miflon, appointed the year before to be
ruler of California, did not accept the position, so
that in January 1825 a new appointment had to be
made. 11
The choice fell upon Lieutenant-colonel Jose Maria
Echeandia, an officer said to have been director of
a college of engineers in Mexico. His appointment
as gefe politico superior and comandante general mili-
tar of both Californias was perhaps dated the 31st of
January. 12 In June he sailed from San Bias to Lo-
describes the ratification at S. Diego, where not only the Franciscans but ap-
parently the Dominican padre Menendez, who chanced to be present, refused
to assist. Estndillo, Doc, MS., i. 209. May 10th, certificate of ayuntamiento
to the taking of the oath at San Jose, and to the three days of bull-fighting
and other diversions that followed. 8. Jose, Arch., MS., vii. 22; DejitSt. Pap.
MS., i. 11G-17. I find no record of the event at Sta Barbara. Dec. 4, 1826,
the governor sends copies of the constitution and acta constitutiva to be cir-
culated among the escoltas and padres. Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lvii. 23.
9 Leg. Pec, MS., i. 41-6. More of this topic when I come to speak of the
missions. From Doc Hist. Cal., MS., iv. 725, it would appear that at a session
held eai-ly in this j^ear the office of comisionado for the pueblos was restored.
10 May 2d, Argiiello to comandantes and prefect. Dept Pec, MS., i. 119.
May 22d, Argiiello to ayuntamiento of Los Angeles on same subject. Dept
St. Pup., Angeles, MS., i. 82. June 3d, comandante of S. Francisco has pub-
lished the order. St. Pap., Sac, MS., xiv. 36.
11 As early as April it was known in Cal. that Minon would not come. With
Id's successor Argiiello at that time expected 60 artillerymen. Apr. 11th, Ar-
giiello to P. Duran. Arch. Sta D., MS., xii. 321-2.
12 His instructions seem to have been issiied on that date, St. Pap., Miss.
and Colon., MS., ii. 42, and it was on Feb. 1st that his appointment was an-
nounced by Minister Pedraza in a letter to Argiiello. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS.,
in. 3. Feb. 28th, Echeandia to Herrera, announcing his appointment with a
sal.ny of 83,000. Dept St. Pap., MS., ii. 1. The fact that he was director of the
of Military engineers in Mexico rests on the statements of Valle, Lo
Pasado, MS., 1, and Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 42-3, but is probably accurate.
ARRIVAL OF ECHEANDlA, 9
reto on the schooner Nieves. Possibly he had come
up from Acapulco on the Morelos, which was at San
Bias at the time en route for Monterey; but I think
not, though some of his officers came on that vessel
and joined him there. 13 He remained at Loreto from
June 2 2d until October, reorganizing peninsular af-
fairs, issuing a reglamento, and appointing a sub gefe
politico. 14 He finally set out for Monterey by land
on October 4th, but, worn out by the hardships of the
route, soon despatched to Argiiello an order to meet
him at San Diego, where he arrived late in October. 15
Meanwhile Argiiello first heard of EcheandiVs
appointment on July 4th by a letter from the latter
dated June 25th, and announcing his arrival at
Loreto en route for the capital. Later in the month,
probably by the Morelos, came the official notice
from Mexico. 16 The order to meet his successor at
San Diego came about the 2Gth, on which date
Argiiello replied that the state of his health would
not permit him to make the journey so rapidly as was
ordered, but he would coine slowly. 17 Two days later he
sailed on a schooner for San Diego, 18 w T here he turned
over his office in November. Though Argiiello was
doubtless displeased at this innovation on his own
13 In April-May he was at Tepic, and had some trouble about collecting
pay and supplies for his troops. St. Pap. , Sac. , MS. , x. 27-D. He also asked to
be relieved of the military command. Sup. Govt St. Pap. , MS. , iii. 4. June 7th
he was at Tepic, expecting to sail on the Morelos, a new name for the old San
Carlos. Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 139. For trip on the Nieves, see Pacheco's
testimony in Herrera, Causa, MS., p. 67-8; St. Pap. Sac., MS., x. 31. Eche-
andia's statement in 1827 was that he sailed from S. Bias June 12th, and reached
Loreto in 10 days. Dept Pec, MS., v. 103. June 25th he wrote to Argiilleo
from Loreto. Dept St. Pap., MS., i. 120-1.
14 See Ilist. North Mexican States, ii. , this series.
15 In July he sent up to S. Diego for mules. Arch. Arzob. , MS. , iv. pt ii. 150.
Oct. 4th, started. Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lvii. 3. Oct. 18th, sent
order to Argiiello to come south. Guerra, Doc, MS., iv. 1G1-2. Oct. 31st,
writes from S. Diego. Dept St. Pap., MS., i. 74; Dept Rcc, MS., ii. 6.
10 July 4th, Argiiello to comandantes with purport of Echeandia's letter.
Dept St. Pap. , MS. , i. 120-1. July 22d-3d-8th, Argiiello had received official
intelligence. Id., Ben. Mil, MS., liv. 9; Dept. Pec, MS., i. 230; ii. 37. Oct.
1st, Argiiello expected his successor soon, and had made preparations for his
reception, being uncertain whether he would come by sea or land. Guerra,
Doc, MS., iv. 159.
17 Oct. 2Gth, Argiiello to Guerra. Guerra, Doc, MS., iv. 1G1-2.
18 Dept St. Pap., MS., i. 80.
10 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
personal comfort and on the old customs, and though
the people of Monterey liked not the new governor's
disposition to fix his residence in the south, yet I find
no contemporary evidence of controversy or of con-
templated resistance. The records, however, are far
from complete, and both Alvarado and Vallejo credit
Argiiello with a patriotic refusal to listen to the coun-
sels of Montereyans and the troops who urged him to
take advantage of Echeandia's arbitrary order and
proclaim revolt. 19 It is not unlikely that there was
some clashing of opinion when the two officers met;
but there is no record on the subject. Echeandia had
remained at San Diego at first because exhausted by
his journey; and he continued to reside there chiefly
because he deemed the climate favorable to his health,
but also that as ruler of both Californias he might be
nearer Loreto, and because he found nothing in his
instructions which absolutely required him to live at
Monterey. 20 No transfer of the capital was made;
19 Vallejo, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 48-51; Alvarado, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 105-9.
Vallejo states that the padres took advantage of the excitement in the north
to create a prejudice against Echeandia. Both imply that there was a sharp
correspondence before Argiiello went south, which is impossible; and that one
cause of the excitement was the transfer of the custom-house to S. Diego,
when do such change was made. I suppose that both writers greatly exag-
gerate the popular feeling, looking at it through the colored glasses of mem-
ory, respecting later dissensions between the north and south.
20 Doubtless the persuasions of the southerners had also an influence; and
J. J. Vallejo, lieminis., MS., 87-9, implies that a certain lady of S. Diego had
more influence than all the rest. General mention of Echeandia's arrival
without additional details, or blunders worthy of notice, in Machado, Tiem-
I os Pamdos, MS., 21, 23; Amador, Memorias, MS., 85; Ord, Ocurrencias,
MS., 19-20; Lugo, Vida, MS., 12-13; Avila, Cosas de Cal, MS., 25; Petit-
Thouars, Voy., ii. 90; Mofras, Explor., i. 293.
The version of one author, who has made claims to be an accurate histo-
rian, is worth a record here. I allude to that given in Willson's Mexico and
it Religion, 148-50. ' The new republic was at peace, and the surplus soldiery
had to be got rid of. It was not safe to disband them at home, where they
l. light take to the roads and become successful robbers; but 1,500 of the worst
were selected for a distant expedition, the conquest of the far-off territory of
( lalifornia. And then a general was found who was in all respects worthy of
hi ; soldiery. He was pre-eminently the greatest coward in the Mexican
army — so great a coward that he subsequently, without striking a blow, sur-
rendered a fort, with a garrison of 500 men, unconditionally, to a party of 50
i reigpers. Such was the great General Echandrea, the Mexican conqueror
of ( lalifornia ; and such was the army that he led to the conquest of unarmed
1 riests and an unarmed province.' 'Had there been 50 resolute persons to
oppose them, this valiant army would have absconded, and California would
have remained an appanage of the crown of Spain,' etc. 'When the prefect
LUIS ANTONIO ARGUELLO. 11
but very soon the people of the south chose to take
that view of the governor's residence among them, and
were not a little elated at the honor. 21
Although Ex-governor Arguello remained in Cali-
fornia, resuming his former position as comandante of
San Francisco; yet as he was never again prominent
in public affairs, and as he died within the limits of
this decade, on March 27, 1830, it seems best to ap-
pend here his biography. 22 Don Luis was the first
of the missions was shipped off to Manilla the war was at an end. ' Com-
ments on this rubbish are unnecessary.
21 As early as Nov. 9th, Sepiilveda from Los Angeles congratulates Eche-
andia on his arrival, and is glad that he will make San Diego his capital.
1 You may count on this dismembered ayuntamiento and on all under my
command.' Los Angeles, Arch., MS., i. 2, 3.
22 Luis Antonio Argiiello, son of D. Jose Diario Arguello, then alferez of
the Sta Barbara company, and Dona Ignacia Moraga, was born at San Fran-
cisco presidio June 21, 1784, and was christened the next day, his godparents
being Lieut. Moraga and wife. S. Francisco, Lib. Mis. , MS. , 20. He entered
the military service as cadet of the S. Francisco company on Sept. G, 1799, and
was promoted to be alferez of the same company on Dec. 22, 1800. St. Pap. Sac. ,
MS. , xi. 5 ; Vallejo, Doc. , MS. , xv. 94 ; Gacetas de Mex. , x. 240. This same year
he petitioned for license to marry Dona Rafaela Sal; but as the petition had
to go to the viceroy and king, it was not until 1807 that the permission was
received, and even then burdened with the condition that the wife should
have no claim on the montepio fund at her husband's death, unless he were
killed on the field of battle. The wife died at S. Francisco, Feb. 6, 1814.
Prov. St. Pap., MS., xix. 40, 196-7; Prov. Bee, MS., ix. 101. She is said
to have been remarkable for the kindness of her disposition and for her in-
fluence over her somewhat erratic husband. Amador, Mem., MS., 121;
Lorcnzana, Mem. de la Beata, MS., 3.
On March 10, 1806, Don Luis was promoted to the lieutenancy, and in Au-
gust his father turned over to him the command of the company. Prov. St. Pap. ,
Ben. Mil., MS., xxxvii. 3, 15. According to his hoja de servicios at the end
of 1816, beside the routine of garrison duty, he had been engaged in two ex-
peditions, one in pursuit of fugitive neophytes, and the other to explore new
regions among the gentiles. Vallejo, Doc. , MS. , xv. 94. He was recommended
for promotion by Gov. Sola, July 8, 1817; was commissioned Oct. 30th, and
was recognized as captain of the company from April 1, 1818. Prov. St. Pap.,
MS., xx. 194; Prov. Pec, MS., ix. 196; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xvi. 48; S. Fran-
cisco, Cuentas, MS., i.-vi.
About 1818 Capt. Arguello made a boat voyage up the Sacramento River;
in 1821 he made an expedition to the far north, up the Sacramento Valley,
beyond what is now Red Bluff, and back over the coast mountains, to S.
Rafael; and in 1822 he accompanied Canonigo Fernandez and Prefect Payeras
on a trip to Bodega and Ross. Meanwhile he had married, in 1819, Dona
Soledad, daughter of Sergeant Jose* Dolores Ortega, who brought him as a
dowry of somewhat doubtful cash value her father's arrears of pay due from
the royal treasury.
Arguello was elected acting governor on or about Nov. 1 1 , 1822, Arch. Arzob. ,
MS., iv. pt i. 96; St. Pap., Sac, MS., xi. 6, and took possession of the office
on the day of Sola's departure, on or about Nov. 22d. The events of his rule
have been already given. His office of governor being only provisional, he still
retained nominally the command of San Francisco. After he resigned rule at
12 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
h ijo del pais called upon to rule California, and he
filled most creditably a position which was by no
means free from difficulties. Had the rival candidate,
Jose de la Guerra, been chosen, it is hard to point out
in what way he could have ruled more wisely. Ar-
guello's education was in ^some respects deficient, being
simply what his father could give him in his presidio
home; but in every position which he occupied he
showed much practical common sense if no extraor-
dinary ability. He was much less strict than his
father, or than most of the old Spanish officers, in his
regard for the letter of national law; he was sometimes
reproved when comandante for his concessions to for-
eigners, and especially to the Russians; and when he
became governor, he still continued his innovations in
S. Diego in Nov. 1825, I think he remained for some time in the south with
his brother, Don Santiago. On April 15, 1826, Echeandia ordered his pay as
comandante to cease, the reason not being explained. IJept JRec, MS., iv. 31.
On May 20th Echeandia ordered him to S. Francisco to take command of his
company. Id., v. 40. Aug. 8, 1827, the minister of war was informed that
Argiiello claimed the commission of lieutentant-colonel that had been given
him by Iturbide. Id., v. 128. Oct. 7, 1828, Echeandia relieved Argiiello
of his command in consideration of ill health; and on Nov. 20th he was or-
dered to Monterey 'for the good of the service.' Id., vi. 109, 138. His pur-
chase of the Rover, his enterprise in the China trade, and the resulting law-
suits with Capt. Cooper, the only notable events of his later life, are noticed
in other chapters.
Argiiello's military record down to the end of 1828 gives him 29 years, 3
months, and 27 days of service, with an addition of 11 years and 11 days for
campaigns. Echeandia appends the following notes: 'Courage, proved;
ability, more than average; military conduct, indifferent; health, broken;
loyalty, supposed faithful. His services merit all consideration, but his con-
duct is now loose, doubtless from excessive drinking. He was suspended
from command for reasons presented to the supreme government on Feb.
15, 1828.' St. Pap., Sac, MS., xi. 5-7. He died at San Francisco on March
27, 1830, at 1 :30 a. m., at the age of 46 years, and was interred in the mission
cemetery next day by P. Estenega. S. Francisco, Lib. Mision, MS., 73-4;
Vallejo, Doc, MS., xx. 165. Mariano Estrada was the executor of the estate,
S. Jos6, Arch., MS., i. 36, which live years after his death was in debt to the
missions to the extent of over $1,000. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treat.,
MS., iii. 76-7; S. Francisco, Cuentas, MS., v. 1. To his widow, Dona Sole-
dad, was left the rancho of Las Fulgas, and notwithstanding the depredations
of lawyers and squatters, she was in easy circumstances until her death in
1 N74. None of the sons of Don Luis ever acquired any prominence in public life.
The California!! writers, almost without exception, speak in the highest terms
of Argiiello's honesty, ability, and kindness of heart: See Alvarado, Hist.
CW.,MS.,ii. 102-4; Vallejo, Hid. Cal., MS., i. 327-30; ii.42-3; Osio, Hist. Cal.
MS., 5-21, 57; Amador, Mem., MS., 81-3; Castro, Pel, MS.. 13-14; Avila,
( '08O8, .MS., 22; Romero, Man., MS., 10; Machado, LoPasado,MS., 21; Spence'a
V^.,U; Hayes' Em. Notes, MS., 505; Sta Barbara Press. Oct. 24, 1874;
8. Diego Union, Oct. 29, 1874.
REENFORCEMENT OF OFFICERS. 13
that respect; but his disregard for law was always in
the interest of his province and people, and no selfish
or unworthy action is recorded against him. After his
accession to the chief command, he had some enemies — ■
notably Jose Maria Estudillo, Jose Joaquin de la Torre,
and Jose Antonio Carrillo; but none of these were Cal-
ifornians of the best class. With the people, and
especially with his soldiers, he was always popular, by
reason of his kindness, liberality, and affability. If he
came into somewhat more bitter controversy with the
friars than had his predecessors, it was due to the
times and circumstances rather than to the man. In
person he was tall, stout, and attractive, with ruddy
complexion and jet-black hair. He was a jovial com-
panion, a bon vivant, so far as a man could be so in this
poverty-stricken province, free with his money, in
fact a spendthrift, and always in debt. His pecu-
liarities of temperament led him into an increasing
fondness for wine and aguardiente; and his drinking
habits doubtless broke down his health, and hastened
his death in middle life.
There were embarked on the Nieves, in June, from
San Bias, besides Echeandia, Alferez Pomualdo Pa-
checo and Alferez Agustin V. Zamorano, both engi-
neer officers, and probably from the college of which
Echeandia had been director, the former coming as
aide-de-camp and the latter as secretary to the gover-
nor; also Alferez Jose Maria Ramirez, a cavalry offi-
cer, whose position at this time under Echeandia is not
apparent; Alferez Patricio Estrada, in command of a
detachment of about forty infantry of the battalion
known as Fijo de Hidalgo; 23 and also probably a fifth
alferez, Juan Jose Pocha, though it is possible that he
came on to Monterey by the Morelos. Of Estrada and
23 In 1833 this body of men was spoken of as the piquete del 2° batallon
permanente, consisting of 1 sergeant, 3 trumpeters, 3 drummers, 1 corporal
of fusileers, 1 corporal of artillery, 9 grenadiers and chasseurs, and 1G fusi-
leers— 34 in all. Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxvi. 31.
14 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
his men, though they remained ten years in the coun-
try, hardly anything is known; but Zamorano, Pacheco,
Rocha, and Ramirez were somewhat prominent in
later annals. 24
All those mentioned are supposed to have stopped
with Echeanclia at Loreto, and to have accompanied
him to San Diego by land, though it is possible that
there were some exceptions; but another passenger
on the Morelos, which had sailed from Acapulco on
March 25th, and had probably brought some of the
officers named as far as San Bias, 25 was Jose Maria
Herrera, who, being sent as couiisario subaltern o de ha-
cienda to administer the territorial finances, did not stop
at Loreto, but came on to Monterey, where he ar-
rived July 27th, and took possession of his office Au-
gust 3d, relieving Mariano Estrada, who had held a sim-
ilar position under a different title by authority of the
diputacion. Herrera was subordinate to the comisa-
rio general de occidente at Arizpe, and in financial
matters he was largely independent of Echeandia.
He brought with him a memoria of goods w T orth $22,-
379, and $22,000 in silver; 23 but there was no provision
made for the back pay of the troops; and Herrera
refused to comply with Echeandia's order to pay the
soldiers for three months in advance, because such an
act was not allowed in his instructions, the funds were
insufficient, and it would not be wise to put so much
money into the hands of the troops. 27 Beyond some
2 ' Pacheco 's first important service was rendered this year, when he escorted
Lieut. -col. Romero to the Colorado on his way to Sonora; explored two routes
to the river; and perhaps made some preparations for permanently opening
one of the routes. See vol. ii. p. 507 et seq., this work.
r ->Dept Iiec, MS., v. 103; JJcrrera, Causa, MS., 67.
26 Mexico, Mem. Relacioncs, 1826, p. 32; Mexico, Mem. Hacienda, 1826,
p. 27, and annexes, 9, 25. Two hundred boxes of manufactured tobacco
seem to liave been also sent, worth $23,803; and there was an order on the
couiisario de occidente for 812,000, which does not seem to have been paid at
this time. A small part of the $22,000 was perhaps spent at Loreto. With
reference to the tobacco, Huish, Narrative, 426, says that the government, by
way of paying up arrears of 11 years at S. Francisco, sent a brig with a
cargo of paper cigars to be issued to the troops in place of dollars; but an
Martinez observed, cigars would not satisfy the families, and the compro-
mise was refused !
27 Sept. 1st, Echeandia's order to Herrera. Dept. Iiec, MS., ii. 2. Oct.
NEW ARRIVALS. 15
minor correspondence on routine aspects of the de-
partment, and a slight clashing between the new
comisario and the habilitados, there was nothing" in
connection with Herrera's administration durinof this
year that requires notice. 28
Herrera, however, was not the only official who
arrived on the Morelos in July 1825. The vessel
brought also to California Lieutenant Miguel Gonza-
lez in command of a detachment of artillerymen, who
was immediately made a captain, and became coman-
dante de armas at Monterey by virtue of his rank.
There also came, probably in this vessel, and certainly
about this time, three more alfereces, or sub-lieuten-
ants, Antonio Nieto, Rodrigo del Pliego, and Jose
Perez del Campo, the first being in command of a
small body of infantry sent as a guard to eighteen con-
victs condemned to presidio life in California for vari-
ous offences. With few exceptions, the new-comers,
whether officers, soldiers, or convicts, were Mexicans
of a class by no means desirable as citizens.''
29
15th, Herrera to Argiiello, explaining his reasons for not obeying, and alluding
to other communications. Dept St. Pop., MS., i. 105. It is likely that Echean-
dia gave the order in the interest of his own popularity, knowing that it
could not be obeyed.
28 Oct. 10th, Lieut Estrada speaks of complaints of Echeandia through the
comandante of Monterey, and calls for a statement of charges for supplies.
Oct. 31st, Herrera is willing to furnish the account, though there are some mis-
sion items of supplies to escoltas that cannot be included yet. Vallejo, Doc,
MS., i. 98. Nov. 17th, the habilitado of Sta Barbara objects to the comisa-
rio exacting accounts of the mission supplies, etc. He says the company will
pay its own debts if the funds due it are supplied. Dept St. Pap., Ben. Com.
and Treas., MS., i. 6. Dec. 6th, Herrera says that public creditors are
many and resources small. The government expects him to make a just dis-
tribution of the small revenue he controls; and he will make to the public a
respectful statement of his administration. Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 148-9.
General mention of Herrera's appointment and arrival. See Mexico, Mem.
Hacienda, 1826, p. 27, by which it appears that he was appointed on Feb.
8th; Dept St. Pap., MS., iii. 209-10; Leg. Pec, MS., i. 282-3; Dept St.
Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 12; St. Pap., Sac, MS., xiv. 2. He is
called comisario subalterno, comisario sub-principal, comisario provisional,
administrador sub-principal, comisario de guerra, sub-comisario, treasurer,
superintendent of customs, etc.
29 The number of the soldiers, both artillerv and infantry, is not recorded.
Vallejo, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 62-6, and Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 110-14,
confound this arrival of convicts with the later ones of 1830. A list of the
18 convicts who started is given in St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 20-2, and of the 17
who arrived, in Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lvii. 3, besides mention of
several of the number in Id., Ii. 2-3. Eight or nine came with definite sen-
1C A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
Prefect Sarria, as we have seen, declined to swear
allegiance to the federal constitution or to sanction
republicanism either as friar, prelate, or vicar. He
left each of the friars free to decide for himself, and
refused to issue instructions on the subject. There
can be no doubt, however, that the question had been
thoroughly discussed by the padres, and a definite
understanding reached, during the many months in
which the formal declaration of the republic in Cal-
ifornia had been only a question of time. Yet that
the agreement had not been entirely unanimous is
tences, while the rest were simply banished to California. The former were
mostly the companions of Vicente Gomez, ' el capador,' a fiend in human form,
thief and assassin, who is said never to have spared nor failed to torture any
man, woman, or child of Spanish blood that fell into his hands, but who, in
consideration of his services to the ' cause of independence,' was simply sent to
California subject to the orders of the comandante general. It is not quite
certain that he came to Monterey with the rest, since there are indications
that he came to S. Diego with Echeandia, or at least about the same time. He
was soon sent overland to Sonora, perhaps in the hope thathe would be killed
by the Indians, where he arrived in March 1826, after narrowly escaping
death at the hands of the Yumas. After having been employed by Gen.
Figueroa on various commissions, he was sent back, and on the way he was
killed by Alf. Jose Maria Ramirez at S. Vicente, Lower California, in a per-
sonal quarrel, probably in September 1827. Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS.,
lvii. 21; Dept Bee., MS., v. 90-7, 130.
One of the companions of Gomez bore the illustrious name of Fernando
Cortes, ' de muy mala fama en toda la repiiblica,' but of whose Californian ex-
perience nothing is known. Another was Joaquin Solis, ' principal agente de
Gomez, de muy mala conducta, voz general ser ladron,' who acquired fame as
leader of a revolt in 1829, described in chap. iii. of this volume, as did also in
lesser degree in the same affair another companion, Antonio Avila, condemned
to death for murders and robberies in Puebla, but pardoned on condition of exile
to California. Another of the band was Francisco Badillo, sentenced to 1
years of presidio work in chains, or to be shot without hesitation or formality
should he venture to move from the spot where he might be put to work. In
183."), the time having expired, Badillo was set at liberty, but remained in the
country. Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxxvi. 20-2. In 1833 he had been
charged with a new robbery. Id., lxxiv. 44. He was married in 1830 to his
mistress at Sta Barbara. Carrillo {Jose), Doc. Hist. CW., MS., 26. He at one
time kept a monte bank at Sta Barbara, and Manuel Castro once found him
concealed under the table, and stealthily reaching out to steal his own money,
merely, as he said, to keep in practice ! After a long career as cattle-thief, he
was finally lynched about 1860, his body with that of his son being found one
in' >ni i ni; hanging to a tree with the feet very near the ground. A little grand-
daughter wept bitterly because the cruel Americans allowed her grandpapa
to die when a little earth under his feet would have saved him ! Another son
luiown as Six-toed Pete escaped across the frontier. Alvarado, Hist. Cat,
MS., ii. 251-3; Street er'sUeccl, MS., 159-03.
Other members of this band of convicts were for the most part ordinary
thieves and vagabonds, of whose life in California nothing is known, a few
also not being named here by reason of their good behavior and respectable
connections.
RECALCITRANT FRIARS. 17
indicated by Padre Estenega's participation in the
religious services at San Francisco as well as by ocur-
rences of a later date. Sarria defended his action in
letters to the governor. 30 Anterior obligation to
the king of Spain was the ground on which he based
his refusal, with special reference to the fact that the
new constitution required him to take up arms and
resist invasion by a foreign power, including Spain.
Thus he might have to resist the king himself at the
head of his army, in a province which was justly a
part of his dominion, which would be to disobey the
divine law and teachings of the saints. He foresaw
the objection that his previous oath to independence
under Iturbide had required the same opposition to
Spain; but he answered it by claiming that before
Spain was not under her primitive government, the
king was deprived of liberty, and religion was threat-
tened; that under the plan of Iguala, Fernando VII.
was to be called to the throne, with some chance of
Spanish approval; and moreover, that the previous
oath had not only been ordered by his diocesan, but
had been formally decided on by a majority of the
friars, including the prefect.
On the 7th of April the diputacion took up the
matter. Francisco Castro urged immediate steps to
learn at once who of the padres would follow the ex-
ample of their prelate in refusing allegiance. He
also proposed that such as took this course should be
30 Feb. 11, 1825. ' My Venerable Sir and Master: After reflecting on the
oath we are ordered to take to the federal constitution of the United Mexican
States, for which oath you have designated next Sunday, 13th inst., I have
decided that I cannot do it without violating what I owe to anterior obliga-
tions of justice and fidelity; and this I announce to you, though not without
much and very grave regret on my part, since I would like so far as possible
to give an example of submission as I have done up to this time ; but I cannot,
the decision of my conscience opposing. For the same reason I shall not use
my influence that the other padres take the oath, nor that they sanction it
with mass, te deum, etc., as ordered in your communication of the 3d. I
understand that we are threatened with expatriation ; but I will pass through
all, though with tears at leaving my beloved flock. That which I took up for
God, I will always leave if it be necessary for the same God, to whom I have
prayed, etc. In other things very much at your service,' etc. Arch. Arzob.,
MS., iv. ptii. 135-6. Also letters of March 30th and April 14th, in Id., 137-9.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 2
IS A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
deprived of all control over the temporalities of their
respective missions, which should be intrusted to ad-
ministrators. Arguello opposed the measure, because
it would result in the padres abandoning spiritual as
well as temporal interests, and also because it would
be impossible to find competent administrators. Don
Francisco zealously defended his proposition, and even
wished to hold Arguello personally responsible to the
country for any harm that might result from leaving
the recalcitrant friars in charge of public property.
All three of the Castros, that is, all the rest of the
members, were of the same opinion, though Don An-
tonio was somewhat doubtful about the religious
aspects of the case. Thus the vote remained on the
records; but the only result that I find was the issu-
ing of an order to the comandantes that each padre
must be required to state in writing whether he would
take the oath or not. 31
In April Padre Narciso Duran assumed the presi-
dency of the missions, an office that since the death
of Senan had been held by Sarria in addition to that
of prefect. 32 Duran also refused to take the oath, not,
as he said, from any "disaffection to the independ-
ence," nor for any " odious passion," for indeed he
believed independence to interest Spain more than
America — that is, that Spain was better off without
Mexico. But he was tired of taking so many oaths
during the past few years, when oaths seemed to have
become mere playthings. "I offer," he writes, "an
oath of fidelity to do nothing against the established
government, and if this be not accepted, I am resigned
to the penalty of expatriation, which the constitution
31 Leg. Bee, MS., i. 44-6. June 3d, governor's order to comandantes, ac-
knowledged by Sarria June 22d. Arch. Arzob., MS., iv. pt ii. 140. The padres
3?em to have made no immediate reply. There is some reason to suppose
that the above date should be Juno 3, 1826.
32 April 2d, Duran notifies the governor of his assumption of the office.
Dept ftec.,MS.,i. 117; Arch. Arzob., MS., iv. pt ii. 140. June 3d, com-
andante of S. P. has proclaimed Duran as vicario foraneo. St. Pap. Sac,
MS., xiv. 30. Oct. 15, 1824, bishop grants to president all the powers con-
ferred by the former bishop. Arch. Sta 13., MS., xii. 320.
ARREST OF PRESIDENT SARRIA. 19
imposes." 33 Meanwhile the news of Sarria's refusal
had been sent to Mexico, and in June an order of
President Victoria w T as despatched to California that
the royalist prefect should be arrested and sent to
Mexico by the first vessel. 34 This order was carried
into effect in October, as appears indirectly from
Echeandia's order to Padre Duran to come to San
Diego and take' the oath of allegiance in order that
he might assume the duties of prelate during Sarria's
arrest. 35 The arrest was, I suppose, nominal, merely
a suspension from his authority as prelate, involving
little or no interference with his personal liberty; and,
as we shall see later, he was not sent away at all. It
seems that Padre Martin of San Diego had based his
refusal to participate in religious services on his prel-
ate's prohibition. The government called for a decla-
ration as to the nature of that prohibition; and also
desired Padre Estenega to be informed of its great
satisfaction at his patriotic conduct in pronouncing a
stirring discourse at the taking of the oath. 36
33 Oct. 12th, Duran to Herrera, in Arch. Arzob., MS., iv. pt. ii. 148.
34 June 29th, Esteva to comandante general of Cal. Sup. Govt St. Pap.,
MS. , iii. 4-5. P. Sarria was, however, to be treated with respect.
3;> Oct. 31st, E. to D. Dept Rec, MS., ii. 6. In D.'s letter of Oct. 12th,
Arch. Ar?.ob., MS., iv. pt ii. 148, he said that he could not act as prefect
until certain that Sarria was out of the province. This shows that Sarria's
arrest was probably effected by Argucllo before Echeandia's arrival, or per-
haps by order of the latter issued while en route.
36 Sept. 2d, Minister Llave to governor. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., iii. 1.
The general fact of the padres' opposition to the republic is mentioned by
nearly all who have written on California annals, and it is not necessary to
give specific references. Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 20-5, and Vallejo, Hist.
Cal., MS., i. 341-2, dwell on the fact that the padres never lost their feeling
of dissatisfaction and anger ; that as a body they took subsequently but slight
interest in the progress of Cal. ; and that through their influence the Indians
were disaffected and the difficulties of local government greatly increased.
Alvarado is much the more radical of the two. It was the policy, he says, of
emperor and clergy to make of the people their burros de carga. This, as
they well knew, could not be done with republicans. True, they might win
over many influential republicans; but there were so many factions that all
could not be controlled. Sooner or later the 'ass was sure to kick.' Therefore,
when they could not prevent the establishment of a republic, they wished to
leave the country ; were not allowed to go and take with them the wealth of
the territory ; were angry; preached against the existing government ; and in
short, made all the trouble they could.
Among other classes besides the padres, there was no special manifestation
of feeling for or against the republic at this time. The masses now and later
were indifferent; the older officers and soldiers looked with deep regret on the
23 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
The old question of mission supplies still remained
open as a ground of controversy. The reasons which
had impelled the padres to give with a spirit of cheer-
fulness, real or feigned, had largely ceased to exist.
Now most gave grudgingly, because they could not
help it; or in a spirit of apathetic indifference to what
might become of the mission property; or in a few
cases refused in the interest of their neophytes. Padre
Duran on one occasion told Martinez of San Francisco
that he could send no more supplies, and it would be
best to discharge the soldiers if there was a lack of
rations. Martinez in turn asked the governor for per-
mission to take the supplies by force. Padre Viader
wrote that Santa Clara had to buy wheat for its neo-
plrytes, while the pueblo had plenty of grain to sell
the presidios. " The moment the keys are taken from
us by force," he wrote, " we will not take them back,
nor attend to the temporal administration." The des-
titution was very great at San Diego, but the coman-
dante in his letters implies that the padres gave all
they could. The commandant of Santa Barbara had
a sharp correspondence with Padre Ibarra of San
Fernando, trying to prove that the furnishing of sup-
plies was by no means a special favor to the troops,
but an ordinary duty of the missions until the expected
memorias should come from Mexico, together with a
new band of missionaries. The padre, however, was
incredulous about the anticipated aid. " If you do not
eat till then," he said, "you will need elastic bellies;
and as to the coming missionaries, I will believe it
when I see them, not before." He would, however,
change of government; and some of the younger Calif ornians with the Mex-
ican clement were more or less enthusiastic republicans. The Indians had of
course no choice, but their condition was in no respect improved by the
change. Osio, Hist. CaL, MS., 105-7, has something to say on the advantages
of the Spanish rule. He notes that as late as 1842 an invalido hesitated to
make a declaration before an alcalde, fearing that it was wrong for an old
Boldier of the king to do so. Alvarado, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 40-4, mentions a
kind of secret politico-historical society formed by the youth of Monterey,
with Jos6 Joaquin de la Torre as president, by which various schemes of
independence from Mexico as well as Spain were discussed, and where even
annexation to the U. S. wa3 proposed, or a French or English protectorate.
MISSION" AFFAIRS. 21
not be surprised if Mexico were to send to California
for supplies. From San Luis Padre Luis Martinez
complained of everything in general, and in particular
of some ' missionaries ' of a new sect, including one of
the Picos, who were travelling with a barrel instead
of a cross, and were making many converts to drunk-
enness, while the soldiers of the escolta did nothing
but destroy. 37 In Mexico the guardian made a de-
tailed representation to Minister Alaman on the criti-
cal condition of affairs in California, owing to the fact
that the Indians were naturally disgusted at having
to support by their labor themselves, the padres, the
government, and the troops. He declared the amount
of unpaid drafts to be $259,151, and that of unpaid
stipends $153,712, begging most earnestly for at least
a partial payment to save the missions from ruin. 3S
The junta de fomento took up the question of
mission policy, which was regarded as one of the most
important matters submitted to that board. In its
clictdmen on Echeandia's instructions, 39 the junta,
while regarding the necessity of reform as a matter
of course, called attention chiefly to the importance
of proceeding with great caution until a satisfactory
method could be devised for introducing a radical
change in the old system. Finally in April the mis-
sion plan was presented. In prefatory remarks the
history of the system was briefly traced, with a view
to show the growth of the monastico-military govern-
ment in the Californias. "The junta is not ignorant
that from the Spanish system of discoveries and
spiritual conquests has resulted all the progress made
37 Corresp. of Duran, Viader, and Lieut. Martinez in St. Pap., Sac, MS.,
xiv. 22-4, 35-40. Destitution at S. Diego. Dept St. Pap., MS., i. 110;
Gmrra, Doc, MS., v. 201-2; Com. of Sta Barbara vs. P. Ibarra. Doc Hist.
CaL, MS., iv. 731-2; Guerra, Doc, MS., vii. 68-9. P. Martinez to Argiiello,
Arch. Arzob., MS., iv. pt ii. 135. June 1st, 8th, Argiiello on his efforts to ob-
tain supplies from the missions. Dept Pec, MS., ii. 35; Guerra, Doc, MS.,
iv. 158.
38 July 5th, Guardian Lopez to Alaman. Arch. Arzob., MS., iv. pt ii.
143-8.
39 For an account of the various reports and plans of the junta, see note 2,
this chapter.
22 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
in the Jesuit missions of old California, and in those
founded later in new California by the Fernandinos.
It knows the consideration and the praise which these
establishments have merited, not only from Spaniards,
but from enlightened foreigners; and it has given due
weight to all the reasons ordinarily urged in defence
of the system to show it to be not only just and con-
venient, but absolutely necessary. Still the junta has
not been able to reconcile the principles of such a
system with those of our independence and political
constitution, nor with the true spirit of the gospel.
Religion under that system could not advance beyond
domination. It could be promoted only under the
protection of escoltas and presidios. The gentiles
must renounce all the rights of their natural inde-
pendence to be catechumens from the moment of
baptism; they must be subjected to laws almost mo-
nastic, while their apostles deemed themselves freed
from the laws which forbade their engaging in tem-
poral business; and the neophytes must continue thus
without hope of ever possessing fully the civil rights
of society. The junta has not been able to persuade
itself that this system is the only one fitted to arouse
among the gentiles a desire for civil and social life,
or to teach its first rudiments, much less to carry it
to perfection. It believes rather that it is positively
contrary to the political aims in accordance with
which it should have been arranged, and still more to
the true spiritual aim which should be kept in view."
"The present condition of the missions does not cor-
respond to the great progress which they made in the
beginning. This decadence is very noticeable in Low-
er California, and would suffice to prove that the sys-
tem needs change and reform," especially in respect
of the temporal management by the friars. The
plan by which the junta proposed to effect the needed
reforms I append substantially in a note. 40 It shows,
' 'La Junta en suma reduce su dictamen para el arreglo de las misiones
dc Californias a las proposiciones siguientes:' 1. Conversions among gentiles
VESSELS ON THE COAST. 23
like the prefatory remarks which I have quoted, the
feeling on the subject in Mexico under the republican
regime; and while as a whole it never became a law,
it doubtless had an effect on subsequent legislation
respecting secularization. In the colonization plan
proposed by the junta a little later, the expense of
bringing settlers from Mexico and an allowance for
their support during a term of years were to be taken
from the mission capital, which was supposed to have
accumulated during the friars' administration; but
the amount was to be 'equitably divided' between
the sums due the missions for supplies and the funds
actually on hand ! Echeandia took some time to in-
vestigate the condition of mission affairs, and there-
fore did little or nothing this year which could indi-
cate his policy.
Of the forty-seven vessels more or less clearly re-
corded as having been on the coast in 1825, seventeen
were whalers; three were men-of-war; one was the
national transport; respecting eleven or twelve we have
only a mere mention, in some cases erroneous, of name
and presence, with no information about their business;
while of the remaining fourteen the objects, mainly corn-
must be effected by visitas and entradas of friars and priests, who must
obtain the permission of the government, and will receive their stipends as a
limosna from the pious fund. 2. The supreme government should administer
the pious fund, act upon the petitions of those who wish to convert gentiles,
and assign to them their stipends and vidticos, but the territorial government
may report on places for new conversions, and propose the priests, already in
Cal., deemed qualified for the new ministry. 3. The right to evangelizar
should not be restricted to members of any particular order. 4. The friars
now in charge of the missions should remain in charge as curates. 5. To
avoid burdensome taxes, etc., these friars as curates may receive their
stipends as before from the pious fund. 6-7. There should be two friars in
each mission, besides those temporarily residing or resting there while
engaged in converting gentiles. 8. The missions to continue in this condi-
tion until formally made parishes and delivered to the bishop. 9. The gov-
ernment should reassume the administration of mission temporalities, form-
ing the necessary regulations to prevent loss of property or damage to
neophytes, and should distribute lands to the latter as soon as they are able
to govern themselves. 10. The government should take measures to abolish
the mission escoltas, but at the same time to afford fall protection to persons
and property. 11. The necessary changes in municipal laws, to correspond
with this plan, to be referred to congress.
24 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
mercial, are well known. Nationally the fleet included
twenty American craft, eight English, three Spanish,
two Russian, two Mexican, one Californian,one French,
and eight of unknown nationality. 41 Captain Cooper
in the Rover started probably in February for a new
voyage to China, not returning until the next year.
The Sachem and Spy came from Boston for Bryant,
Sturgis & Co., presumably under Gale's superintend-
ence. McCulloch, Hartnell & Co.'s vessels were prob-
ably the Pizarro and Junius, and perhaps others, for
the records are far from clear.
Of all the vessels of the year those which created
the greatest sensation were three Spanish men-of-war
which made their appearance in April and May. The
27th of April a large line-of-battle ship flying the stars
and stripes of the United States was seen approaching
Monterey. The people thought of 1 8 1 8, "el ano de los
insurgentes," and made hasty preparations for a flight
to the interior, while the governor prepared his gar-
rison for defence. 42 Late in the afternoon the strange
vessel anchored just beyond the range of the battery's
guns, fired a salute, and sent an officer ashore, who
shouted, " Viva la libertad!" and asked to see the gov-
ernor. The commander soon landed, and proved to
be Jose Martinez, an old acquaintance of the Argiie-
llos. A short interview served to remove all fears, 43
and the motives of the strangers w T ere soon explained*
41 The vessels of 1825— see also list for 1825-30 at end of chap, v.— were:
The Apollo, Aquiles, Arab, Asia, Bengal (?), Carlos Huat (?), Constante,
< 'ourier (?), Don, Eagle, Elena, Eliza, Factor, lnca (?), Juan Battey (?), Junius,
Kiahkta, Maria Ester, Merope, Morelos, Nile, Pizarro, Ploicboy, Recovery,
Rover, Sachem, Santa Magdalena (?), Sta Rosa (?), Snow (?), Spy, Tartar,
Tiemechmach (?), Tomasa, Warren, Washington, Whaleman, Young Tartar,
and nine American whalers not named.
42 J. J. Vallejo, Reminiscencias, MS., 84-6, and Dorotea Valdes, Reminis.,
MS. , 2 -5, have more to say of the fright of the people than others, though all
mention it. Osio, Hist. Col., MS., 91-112, narrates the whole affair at some
length. He says that Argiiello was importuned to retreat, and that the
artillery commander, Lieut. Ramirez, was especially desirous of securing his
life, aa he had just married a pretty wife with $8,000, but the governor refused
to abandon the presidio.
" I'. Altimira, however, still feared some hostile intention; May 12th he sent
from S. Francisco a warning to Argiiello, declaring that the men were bad,
and should be looked upon with horror. He also recommended the sending
THE 'ASIA' AND 'CONSTANTE.' 25
The ship was the Asia, or San Geronimo, of seven-
ty-four guns and six hundred men; and three days
later her consort, the brigantine Constants, with sixty
men, anchored in the harbor. These vessels had formed
a part of the royal Spanish squadron operating a,gainst
the rebels on the coast of South America. Together
with the Aquiles and the transport Garinton, they
had sailed from that coast for Manila in January 1824,
after the fall of Callao, under Ro<jue Guruceta. On
the way the men revolted in March 1825, at Guahan,
one of the Mariana Islands. They landed all the offi-
cers and passengers who would not join in their
scheme, burned the Garinton, put Jose Martinez, for-
merly of the Constante, in command, and returned
eastward with a view of surrendering the vessels to
some of the American enemies of Spain. The Aquiles
started first and was not seen again, and the others di-
rected their course to California, as the most practi-
cable route, and with a view of obtaining supplies.
This was the account given by Martinez with more
details on his later arrival at Acapulco. 44
An agreement was signed on May 1st, by which
Martinez formally surrendered the Asia and Constante
to Argiiello as an officer of the Mexican republic, under
certain conditions intended to secure the safety of the
men and the payment of their wages. 45 Thereupon
of the news to Mexico, and stated that the American schooner Tartar at San
Francisco would carry a despatch for $1,500. Perhaps the padre had an
understanding with Capt. Morrell, and was to have a share of the profits.
St. Pap. Sac, MS., x. 10-11. Morrell, Narrative, 209, mentions the man-of-
war at Monterey, giving some details.
44 l Asia' y '■Constante, ' ' Expcdiente de la Capitidacion, 1825, in Gaceta de Mex. ,
Extra, June 15, 1825, which is devoted wholly to this affair, contains all the
documents, and is the best authority. Jules Verne, the novelist, in The
Mutineers, a story founded on this mutiny, gives many names and other par-
ticulars, which do not seem to be altogether inaccurate. The Asia had car-
ried Viceroy O'Donoju to Vera Cruz in 1821, and Conde de Venadito to Habana.
Alaman, Hist. Mex., v. 329, 818-19. See also Zamacois, Hist. Mej., xi. 61 1-13.
The affair is also described in Campaigns and Cruises in Venezuela, i. 404-7.
45 'Asia' y 'Constants, ' Tratado de Capitidacion de los Navios en Monterey,
1825, MS.; also in Gac. Mex., Extra, June 15, 1825; signed by Jose" Estrada
(appointed by Argiiello as comisionado), Jos6 Ramirez, Jos6 Cardenas, and
Antonio Ventura Roteta. Mention in Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS.,lvL
8. May 3d, Argiiello approves the contract in a communication to Mar-
tinez, and reappoints the old officers temporarily. Martinez was comman-
26 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
the officers and men came ashore, swore allegiance to
independence and the federal constitution, pitched their
tents on the beach, and for over twenty days made
things lively at Monterey. First, however, they had a
religious duty to perform. The holy virgin had been in-
duced at a time of great peril by prayers and vows so
to strengthen a weak sail that it bore the violence of
the gale better than those thought to need no prayers;
and now all the m^n walked barefoot with the sail to
church, and rendered their thanksgiving with much
ceremony. 46 Finally, when the merry-making was
over, health restored, and some necessary refitting
completed, the strangers embarked for Acapulco
May 23d, under the charge of Captain Juan Malar in
as chief navigator and bearer of despatches to the
city of Mexico, by Argiiello's appointment. The
Mexican government approved the action of the Cali-
fornian authorities, and assumed the obligation to pay
the wages of the men to the amount of over $90,000.
Whether the debt was ever paid is another matter.
The new vessels thus unexpectedly added to the fed-
eral navy were sent round to Vera Cruz, and the Asia
was subsequently known as El Congreso} 1 Several
der of the two vessels; Cardenas and Antonio Ferrer were next in rank on
the Asia; while Antonio Roteta and Manuel Galindo were the officers of the
Constanic. Dept Bee, MS., i. 54.
40 Torre, Beminis.,MS., 39-46, describes this church ceremony, and also
that of swearing allegiance, at some length. Osio also gives some details.
Vallejo, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 3-18, who gives considerable space to this affair of
the Asia, tells us that in a quai'rel about a girl, the gachupin Arnoldo Pierola
killed Juan B. Lopez, and took refuge on the ship, where Lieut. Valle and
the writer were sent to arrest him, but the crew refused to give him up. By-
careful precautions, further disturbances were prevented. The ladies presented
two Mexican flags to the vessels, though, as appears from another document,
they had to use blue stuff instead of green. Vallejo speaks of a grand ball on
the Asia. All the old residents agree that money and sugar had not been so
plentiful at Monterey for a long time. Sra Avila, Cosas da CaL, MS., 22-3,
speaks of the ludicrous attempts of the sailors and marines to ride on horse-
back, and says further that their blasphemies shocked the Californians.
Alvarado, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 93-101, notes that green corn was in season;
also that the Indian maidens reaped a rich harvest of money, handkerchiefs,
and beads from the strangers.
47 June 11, 1825, Manuel Victoria, com. at Acapulco, to sec. war, announc-
ing arrival of the vessels. May 21st, Arguello to com. at Acapulco on the sur-
render and M alarm's mission. June 11th, Martinez to com. Acapulco, announc-
ing arrival and enclosing his narrative of same date. May 1st, the treaty as
THE 'AQUILES ' AT SANTA BARBARA. 27
men from the two vessels remained in California, but
none of this number ever acquired any prominence
in the territory. 48
The third vessel of the fleet, the Aquiles, did not
join the others at Monterey, but made her appearance
at Santa Barbara early in May ; neither did her com-
mander, Pedro Angulo, deem it best to surrender to
the Mexican authorities. During their stay of a few
days the crew and passengers contracted as many debts
as possible, we are told, and otherwise behaved badly.
Finally on their departure, having left behind the pilot
with seven or eight men, they fired two cannon with
ball cartridges against the presidio as a parting salute,
and disappeared in the south-west. 49
already cited, certified copy of Monterey, May 22d; and finally announcement
of approval by Mex. govt on date of the gaceta, June 15th. All making up the
Asia y Constante, Expedlente. Sailing of the vessels on May 23d, Guerra, Doc,
MS., iv. 158. May 23d, Argiiello to commandante at Acapulco, explaining
the whole affair, and sending copies of contract. Dept Rec, MS., i. 56. May
2d, Argiiello to comandantes, giving an account of the surrender and plans.
Id., i. 117. Mention of the affair in Niks' Reg., xxix. 74; Gaceta de Mex., i.
1-4. Contract religiously carried out. Mexico, Mem. Marina, 1826, p. 3.
The $90,000 paid. Id., 1830, p. 1. Echeandia, on hearing of Argiiello's action,
had some fears that he had been tricked, and ordered more strict precautions.
St. Pap. Sac, MS., x. 32-3; Dept St. Pap., MS., i. 68, Osio, not friendly
to Echeandia, says that the latter was severely snubbed by the minister of
war for his intermeddling, and that consequently he later took every occasion
to annoy Argiiello, killing him with disgustos in 5 years !
48 In July 1828, 4 of the number remained in the Monterey district. St.
Pap., Ben., MS., i. 75-6. Manuel Fogo and Francisco Gutierrez named.
Dept Rec, MS., v. 17; vi. 45. David Spence, Hist. Notes, MS., 1-3, who
gives a very clear narrative of the whole affair, says that 12 of the Asia's crew
remained and became good citizens. I have also a letter of Spence to Hart-
nell of May 2d, announcing the arrival with some details. Vallejo, Doc, MS.,
xxviii. 451. May 2, 1829, decree of president about the Asia's crew. Dispo-
siciones Varias, ii. 60.
49 May 6th, Guerra to Argiiello, in Dept St. Pap., MS., i. 113; Id., Ben.
Mil., liv. 7; Dept Rec, MS., i. 227. June 25th, Esteva from Mexico to com-
andante of Monterey. If the Aquiles arrives give her no food; induce her to
surrender like the Asia; take two officers as hostages; seize her sails; and re-
port quickly. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., iii. 8. Mrs Ord, Ocurrencias, MS.,
18-19, says that when the commander of the vessel landed and called at Capt.
Guerra's house, he found there a great crowd celebrating the wedding of her
sister and Hartnell. With his companions he was invited to join in the fes-
tivities, and was induced by Hartnell to drink a good deal of wine with a
view the better to learn his business, though without much success. Osio,
Hist. Cat., MS., 99-102, also speaks of the wedding, and tells us that Angulo,
an ignorant Chileno, at first thought to hide his bad Spanish from so cultured
a company by pretending to be a Frenchman; but Hartnell soon discovered
he could not speak French. Learning that the Asia was at Monterey, An-
gulo hurried on board without waiting for anything, and sailed for Valparaiso,
after sending a cannon ball into town.
28 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
One other visit to California this year requires
special attention, from the fact that the voyager pub-
lished his experiences in a book. I allude to that of
Benjamin Morrell Jr., in the American schooner Tar-
tar. Having sailed from New York in July 1824, he
arrived at San Diego from the south in April 1825,
perhaps bringing a cargo for Hartnell from Chili, but
chiefly bent on catching seals. His description of
San Diego, where he remained twelve days, 50 and his
still more absurd description of his adventures on a
hunting tour in the interior — where with seven
Spanish companions he defeated fifty native mounted
warriors in a desperate hand-to-hand battle, killing
seventeen of their number, and himself receiving
numerous wounds — leave no room to doubt that the
valiant captain was a liar. He touched at Monterey
and San Francisco, whence, finding that there was no
prospect of success in the seal-fishery, he sailed in
May for the Hawaiian Islands, going up to Cape
Blanco and down to Socorro Island on the way.
Many of Morrell's geographical and other details are
tolerably accurate. His book was not published until
1832. He ventured on a prophecy " that long before
another century rolls round the principal avenue of
trade between the United States and the different sea-
ports on the Pacific Ocean will be the river Colorado,
as connected with the gulf of California. The China
and India trade will of course ultimately flow through
the same channel." Not a cargo has yet been known
to be sent down the great canon — but the century has
not yet rolled round. 51
50 ' Its form is nearly circular, and it is surrounded by a wall about 20 feet
in height, which forms the back sides of the houses. There are about 250
houses erected in this maimer, from one to two stories high, built of freestone
and neatly finished. There is also a large church, one nunnery, and a very
neat little court-house. This town contains about 1,500 inhabitants, princi-
pally natives of the coast.' His way of saying that the women rode astride —
as they did not — is very good, however: viz., 'They usually honor each side
of the horse with a beautiful little foot and ankle.' A whale-boat was built
during the stay.
51 Morrell, A Narrative of Four Voyages to the South Sea. etc., 1822-31. "NT.
Y. 1S32. Svo. 492 p. The matter on California is on p. 197-213. This was the
REVENUE AND FOREIGNERS. 29
The customs revenue for the year was from $8,000
to $11,000, so far as may be determined from the
records. 52 Vessels seem to have paid duties in
accordance with the plan of 1824 and the subsequent
action of the diputacion abolishing the duty on ex-
ported produce after January 1st, though the govern-
or, owing to a ' forgetfulness which was natural,'
neglected to publish the decree until March. 53 Eche-
andia's only action on commercial matters was a
decree by which all trade was forbidden except at
the four presidial ports, to the great inconvenience of
the missionary traders. A little later, however,
San Pedro was excepted, to accommodate the citizens
of Los Angeles. 54
Several of the foreign residents married hijas del
pais this year, but none did much else that calls for
notice. Of new arrivals only about twenty names
are known, of which number most are but visitors,
chiefly masters of vessels; and only six have any
claim to be considered as pioneer residents. John
Burton, Robert Livermore, and Alpheus B. Thomp-
son are the prominent names; but in the case of each
there is a degree of uncertainty respecting the exact
year of arrival, as fully explained elsewhere. 55
The winter of 1824-5 was marked by an unprece-
second of the four voyages. Notices of Morrell's visit in the archives. St.
Pap. Sac, MS., x. 11, 14; xiv. 37; Dept St. Pap., MS., i. 64-5. Blunder-
ing notice of the voyage in Taylor's L. Col., 43.
52 The amount is given as $8,014 and elsewhere as $11,036, in Dept St.
Pap. Ben. Cust. II., MS., i. 101-2, 212. Duties at Sta Barbara, $1,220.
Prov. St. Pap. Ben. Mil., MS., lvi. 1. Amount at S. Francisco, $1,061; at
S. Diego, $471. Probably $11,000 was the total, and $8,000 the amount at
Monterey.
53 Dept Pec, MS., i. 115.
54 E.'s decree of Dec. 15th, inS. Antonio, Doc Sueltos, MS., 101-3; S. Jose',
Arch., MS., vi. 23; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxviii. 82; Dept St. Pap., MS., i.
94. Dec. 20th, S. Pedro excepted. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxviii. 83. Complaint
that S. Diego did not get its share of the revenue. Guerra, Doc, MS., v.
201-2.
55 See Pioneer Register at the end of these volumes, ii.-v., for the names
of all, including visitors. The pioneers proper of 1825, besides Burton,
Livermore, and Thompson, are Fisher the negro, William Gralbatch, and
James Grant. Of old residents, W. E. P. Hartnell and Wm. A. Richardson
were married; Daniel Hill was baptized; and Capt. Henry Gyzelaar is said
by Phelps — Fore and Aft, 242-3 — to have been drowned in Russian River,
though it may have been a year or two later.
30 A TERRITORY OF THE MEXICAN REPUBLIC.
dented fall of rain, from which damages more or less
extensive were reported throughout the length of the
territory. At Sonoma many of the new adobe build-
ings were destroyed. The voyager Kotzebue notes
the violence of the storms at San Francisco. At Santa
Cruz the river overflowed the gardens and undermined
the buildings. Considerable grain was spoiled in the
fields at different missions. The southern rivers were
so swollen as to prevent the diputados from coming to
Monterey to ratify the federal constitution, and con-
siderable changes in the course of the southern streams
and general drainage of the country are reported, nota-
bly at Los Angeles and San Diego. More particu-
lars will be found in local anuals. 56 The rains were
on the whole beneficial to the crops in spite of the
local losses, for the harvest was 68,500 fanegas, the
largest of the decade except that of 1821.
56 General mention not likely to occur in local anuals. Leg. Rec, MS., i.
42; Dept Bee, MS., i. 300-1. A newspaper item, accredited to Salvio Pa-
checo and widely copied, states that from 1824 to 1820 hardly any rain fell.
Mention of the floods in Alia CaL, Dec. 30, 1852; Yuba Co. hist., 67.
CHAPTER II.
ECHEANDIA'S RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
1826-1830.
National Measures, 1826 — Junta de Fomento — EcHEANDiA at San
Diego— Guerra for Congress, 1827-8 — Colonization Regulations
op 1828 — Territorial Diputacion, 1827 — Proposed Change op
Name — Echeandia in the North — Diputacion, 1828-30 — Election —
Maitorena Sent to Congress, 1829-30 — Acts of the Supreme Gov-
ernment — Padres as Ayudante Inspector — Gomez as Asesor —
California as a Penal Colony — Arrival of 130 Convicts — Carrillo
Elected to Congress for 1831-2— Expulsion of Spaniards, 1827-30 —
List of Spanish Residents — Echeandia's Appeals for Aid — His
Resignation — Appointment of Antonio Garcia — The Californias
Separated — Manuel Victoria Appointed Governor.
For the last half of the decade under consideration,
the course of events adapts itself more conveniently
to a grouping in topics than to strict chronological
treatment, since the epoch, with the exception of the
Solis revolt, was not one of radical changes and star-
tling events, but rather of gradual progress toward the
Mexican ideal of republicanism and the secularization
of the missions. There was chronic and ever-increas-
ing destitution among the troops, resulting in open
mutiny, constant scheming to make both ends meet,
w^ith no little rascality on the part of the territorial
financiers, and growing commercial industry under the
auspices mainly of foreigners. Of the topics to be
separately treated, usage, as well as convenience in this
instance, gives the first place to politics, and to mat-
ters more or less closely connected with territorial and
national government.
(31)
32 ECHEANDIA'S RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
Politically, then, 1826 was wellnigh a blank. The
national authorities attached some importance to Cali-
fornia as affording by her rich missions a possible
stronghold for Spanish reactionary sentiment, and
they had a vague idea that there was a problem to be
solved there; but having sent a political chief to study
the state of affairs, a small military reenforcement, an
administrator of finances, and a small amount of money
and goods for him to administer, they felt that they
had done a good deal, and were content to let Califor-
nia work out her own salvation for a time. Yet it
seems that the junta de fomento was still engaged
upon a general plan of government for the province/
and for the report of this body, of whose acts we have
unfortunately no record, all were waiting. 1
Cheering news was also sent north that with the
surrender of San Juan de Ulila the Spaniards had
lost their last foothold in Mexico, and also that the
pope had recognized the Mexican independence. These
events were celebrated at different points in the terri-
tory, by the governor's order, in April and May. 2
Echeandia, sent to establish the republican regime,
remained at San Diego engaged in studying the coun-
try's needs. He was not in robust health, was natu-
rally inclined to be easy-going and dilatory, and was
certainly in no haste to adopt any radical policy.
Some items of business connected with the arrival of
vessels claimed his attention; he slightly agitated the
matter of secularization, trying one or two experiments
with a view to test the feelings of the friars and the
1 Mexico, Mem. Relaciones, 1827, p. 36-7. The minister says that in Cali-
fornia very marked vestiges of the old monastico-military government still
remain, presenting serious obstacles; but the governor is instructed to gather
information, and the junta is at work on a plan.
2 Corresp. of 1825-0, with notice of celebration at Sta Barbara, Monterey,
S. Buenaventura, and S.Fernando. Echeandia's order was dated April 15,
L826. DeptBec, MS.,iii. 1G; iv. 31; DeptSt. Pap., Bin. Mil, MS., lxxxvii.j
Id. . Ben. < 'om. and ZVeas., MS., i. 11; St. Pap., Ben,, MS., i. 09-70; Sup. Govt
St. Pap., MS., xix. 26. Double pay for three days was ordered for soldiers;
and some silver coins seem to have been distributed. At S. Fernando the
padre refused to officiate, and the neophytes said some pater-nosters and ave
inarms on their own account.
GUERRA AS CONGRESSMAN - . 33
capabilities of the Indians; and he was engaged to-
gether with Jose Maria Herrera in laying the founda-
tions of what became later a very bitter quarrel. But
of these topics I shall speak elsewhere. Montereyans
were forming a prejudice against the new governor
because he chose to live in the south. The padres
disliked him because of the republic he represented
and his expected opposition to their interests; but the
governor attended to his routine duties in a manner
that afforded little or no ground of complaint.
The diputacion had no existence since its suspen-
sion by Argiiello; but at the end of 1826 Echeandia
seems to have ordered a new election, and on the 18th
of February five electors de partido met at San Diego
to choose, not only diputados to reorganize the terri-
torial diputacion, but also a diputado to the national
congress. 3 Pablo de Sola was on the first vote chosen
as representative in congress ; but in view of the doubt
whether Sola could be deemed a resident of California
and of the urgent necessity that the territory should
be represented, the vote was reconsidered, and Captain
Jose de la Guerra y Noriega was unanimously elected,
with Gervasio Argiiello as substitute. The term of
office was for 1827-8. Guerra did not start for Mex-
ico until January 1828. His friends urged him not
to go, fearing that as a Spaniard he would not be well
received. Their fears were well founded, since he was
not admitted to congress, and even had to hurry back
3 Dec. 5, 1826, Gov. orders that electors are not to start until further
notice. Dec. 31st, he orders them to start. Dept liec, MS., iv. 19-20.
The order for an election is not extant, but it appears from another document
to have been dated Nov. 14th. The five electores de partido, one for each pre-
sidio and one for Los Angeles, were Francisco de Haro, S. F. ; Estevan Mun-
ras, Monterey; Carlos A. Carrillo, Sta B. ; Vicente Sanchez, Los Angeles;
and Agustin Zamorano, S. Diego. Adas de Elecciones, MS., 1-4; Dept St.
Pap., Angeles, MS., x. 1 ; Guerra, Doc, MS., vii. 155-8, in which documents
is found the record of the action of the meeting. The only partido election
cf which we have a record was that at S. F. on Jan. 1, 4, 7, 8, 1827, where
Tlaro was chosen over Joaquin Estudillo. Details given. Y alb jo, Doc, MS., i.
99-102; and the only primary elections recorded were that at S. F., Id. , and
that at San Antonio on Nov. 26th, where Eugenio Nactre was chosen to go to
Monterey and vote for the elector de partido. Dej-t St. Pap., Ben. JUL, MS.,
lix. 17-19.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 3
34 ECHEANDiA'3 RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
to California to avoid serious troubles, although he
had left Spain at a very tender age. 4 Gervasio Ar-
giiello, the suplente, took the seat, but failed to distin-
guish himself or to be of much use to his constituents.
The famous junta concluded its labors in behalf of
California at the end of 1827; and in 1828 congress
made an appropriation to give the territory a district
judge. 5
Among the acts of the supreme government, the
decree of November 21, 1828, containing general reg-
ulations for the colonization of Mexican territory, de-
serves prominent notice. This was a supplementary
decree, designed to give effect to the law of August
18, 1824, 6 by establishing rules for the guidance of the
territorial authorities in making grants of land, as
also of petitioners who might desire to take advantage
of the law's provisions. With some slight modifica-
tions, these regulations were in force down to the end of
Mexican power in California, and in this decade a few
grants seem to have been made in accordance with
them. I reproduce the substance of the rules in a
note. 7
4 Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 99-100, 123, and passim. He sailed on the Maria
E-4er, carrying high recommendations from Eclieandia. That he had not been
admitted was known at home on Dec. 0th, Dept Bee, MS., vi. 46-7; and his
passport to return was signed by President Victoria on Dec. 10th, and vised at
8. Bias on May 10, 1829. Oct. 20, 1829, he speaks of his late penoso viaje in
dunning Bandini for a debt. Hayes' Mission Booh, i. 210. $1,000 of $5,000
due Guerra for mileage and salary was later collected in 1831. Guerra, Doc,
MS., iv. 209-1 0. June 18th, Argiiello from Guadalajara thanks the junta electo-
ral. Dept St. Pap. , MS. , ii. 23. Vallejo, Hist. Col. , MS. , iii. 98, accuses Argiiello
of having intrigued, or at least used his influence, to keep Guerra from his
ceat. A pamphlet of 1828, giving sketches of the congressmen of 1S27-8,
speaks of him of California as nada, or 'nothing.' Semblanzas de los Miemhros.
5 The secretary of the interior mentions the completion of the junta's work
in his report of Jan. 30, 1828, stating that a copy in print was distributed to
members. Mexico, Mem. lielaciones, 1828, p. 22. Bustamante, CuadroHist.,
v. 64, speaks of the junta. The Aguila newspaper mentioned a set of the
records of the junta for sale. Guerra, Doc, MS., iv. 175. It is remarkable
that I have found none of these records in the archives.
8 See chap, xxiii. , vol. ii. this work. In forming these regulations of 1828,
the plans proposed by the junta de f omen to in 1825 were doubtless taken into
consideration and adopted to a certain extent. See chap. i. of this volume.
1 Mexico, Reglamento para la colonization de los territorios de la republica,
21 de Noviembre de 1828, MS. Translation in Hallech's Report, App. No.
5; Dwindled Colon. Hist. S. Francisco, Add. 25-0; Wheeler's Land Tides,
8 9; i. Rockwell, 453.
1. Governors of territories may grant vacant lands to such persons, Mexi-
CONSTITUTION FOR CALIFORNIA. 35
On May 12, 1827, the junta de fomento presented
an iniciatlva de ley, or general system of laws for the
federal district, with the recommendation that the
same be adopted by the government, as a kind of
constitution for California and the other territories.
There is no evidence that it was so adopted; and in-
deed, I find nothing to show that any general system
of organic law was ever adopted as a whole; but it
would seem that the different branches of territorial
government were provided for by separate laws as
needed from time to time. 8
can or foreign, as will inhabit and cultivate them. 2. A person desiring lands
shall, in a petition to the governor, express his name, country, etc., and shall
describe the land by means of a map. 3. The governor shall at once ascertain
if the conditions, as regards land and claimant, are those required by the law
of 1824, and may consult the respective municipal authority. 4. This done,
the governor may accede or not to the petition, according to the laws. 5.
Grants to families or private persons shall not be valid without the previous
consent of the diputacion, to which body the expediente shall be forwarded.
6. Not obtaining the approval of the diputacion, the governor shall report to
the supreme government, with the necessary documents for its decision. 7.
Grants to contractors for many families will not be valid until approved by the
supreme government, to which must be sent the necessary documents, including
the approval of the diputacion. 8. The governor shall sign a document to serve
as a title to the party interested. 9. A record shall be made, in a book kept
for the purpose, of all petitions and grants, including maps; and a quarterly
report must be made to the supreme government. 10. No contract for a
new settlement will be admitted, unless the contractor binds himself to intro-
duce as settlers at least twelve families. 11. Non-compliance with the terms
within a proper designated period shall invalidate the grant; but the governor
may revalidate it in proportion to the part fulfilled. 12. The colonistwill prove
compliance with his contract before the municipal authority, in order, on the
necessary record being made, to secure his right of ownership, with power to
dispose of it. 13. New settlements shall be built with all possible regularity,
and shall follow the rules of existing laws for other settlements. 14. The
minimum of irrigable land to one person shall be 200 varas square; of agri-
cultural lands, 800 varas square; and of grazing lands, 1,200 varas square.
15. Land for a house-lot shall be 100 varas. 1G. Spaces between colonized
lands may be given to adjoining proprietors who have cultivated their lands
with most application, and have not received the full amount allowed by the
law; or to their children, who may desire to combine the possessions of their
families. 17. In those territories where there are missions, the lands occu-
pied by them cannot be colonized at present.
In IlaUerk's Report, 121-2, a law of April G, 1830, is cited, which author-
ized the reservation or taking of lands for forts, etc. ; and also repealed art.
7 of the law of 1824 by prohibiting frontier colonization by adjacent foreign-
ers. At least twice in these years, Oct. 7, 1827, and July 15, 1830, general
orders were issued in California for owners of lands to appear and give in-
formation about them and the titles. Olvera, Doc, MS. , 1 ; Dept St. Pap. , Ben.
Mil.. MS.,lxxi. 3.
8 For an account of the acts of the junta de fomento, see chap, i., this
volume. Of this inicialiva de ley, I shall not attempt to present more than a
brief resume" or framework, as follows: 1. Attributes of the president as gov-
36 ECHEANDIA'S RULE-POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
The junta of electors at San Diego, on February
10, 1827, also chose seven vocales, or members, and
three suplentes, or substitutes, for the territorial dip-
utacion, which was ordered by Echeanclia to convene
at Monterey a little later. It does not appear that
lie made any effort to have the sessions held in the
south. The body assembled at the capital on June
14th, but several changes were necessary in its per-
sonnel to keep a quorum in attendance. 9 The gov-
ernor now came north for the first time to preside at
the meetings, and doubtless directed in great measure
the legislative policy. The town was illuminated on
ernor of the federal district, who delegates his powers to a governor for each
territory, reserving, however, the power of this and other appointments, with
other faculties. 9 articles. 2. Attributes of the governor of the Californias.
Appointed for 4 years, but removable at any time by the president, 35
articles. 3. Lieut. -governors, one for Upper and one for Lower California,
appointed by the jDresident for 4 years. 8 articles. 4. Council of govern-
ment, 4 persons for Alta California, elected b}' the people for 4 years. 10
articles. 5. Ayuntamientos of alcalde, 3 regidores, and sindico for a popula-
tion of 500 in Alta California. Elected, alcaldes yearly. 2G articles. G.
Administration of justice. Civil, 8 articles; criminal, 22 articles. 7- Judges
learned in law; 5 in Alta California. 8 articles. 8. Superior tribunal of
justice, consisting of a president and 2 ministers; no salary; 15 articles. 9.
Ecclesiastical government under bishop of Sonora; 9 articles. 10. Military
government under governor as comandante militar; 15 articles; with recom-
mendations of strengthened defences, a comisario de guerra, and a military
academy. 11. Navy, recommendation of a maritime force at S. Francisco and
Monterey; and transfer of the navy-yard of S. Bias to Monterey. 7 articles
and 3 notes. 12. Treasury and revenue, 4, 9 articles. 13. Commerce, 8
articles. 14. Subdivision of Alta California into 4 districts (practically
agreeing with that which I have always followed); adopted by the junta on
June 26, 182G. There is attached to the iniciati va also the voto final of the
junta, dated May 13, 1827, and containing general conclusions on the pros-
pects of the Californias and the labors of the board.
9 The members elected on Feb. 19th were, in the order of their seniority: 1st,
Mariano Estrada, 2d, Tiburcio Tapia, 3d, Ignacio Martinez, 4th, Antonio M a
Ortega, 5th, Juan Bandini, 6th, Anastasio Carrillo, 7th, Antonio Buelna, 1st,
Supl., Nicolas Alviso, 2d, Joaquin Estudillo, 3d, Pcomualdo Pacheco. Acta.i de
Eh cciones, MS. , 4-5; Dept St. Pap. , Any. , MS. , x. 1. All seem to have been pres-
ent at the first session or within a few days, but they were called away by private
or military business until, on Sept. 1st, the two remaining vocales, apparently
Estrada and Buelna, had to call in the ayuntamiento of Monterey, and with the
aid of that body elect 5 provisional members, who lived in ornearthe capital and
c mid be depended on. They were Francisco Pacheco, Estevan Munras, Juan
- 1 Etocha, Mariano G. Vallejo, Jose" Castro. Sworn in on Sept. 19th. How
the whole body now stood as respects seniority does not appear. Lieut
Martinez at first served as secretary, but on dune 26th, Juan B. Alvarado was
duly chosen, and awarded a salary of $25 per month. Leq. Pec, MS., i. 47-89;
Dept /.Vc, MS., v. 67, 7:5, 75, 82, 87; Vallejo, Dor., MS., ii. 170; Dept St.
Pap. S. Jose, MS., iv. 47; Id. Monterey, vl 3-4. Alvarado's salary was to
i ! funds - f :.• ntcrcy.
ACTS OF THE DIPUTACIOST. 37
the night of the 13th, and sessions were held at short
•intervals until the 20th of September. The subjects
considered were mainly those connected with com-
merce and finance, and especially with Herrera' s ad-
ministration of the revenues. Reserving those topics
for other chapters, I append in a note an abstract of
the legislative proceedings. 10
10 June 14th, oath of office taken by diputados before Echeandia, and Mar-
tinez chosen temporarily as secretary. June 16th, Comisario Herrera took the
oath. A reglamento for the dip. was begun and completed at the next ses-
sion of June 19th. Details of routine rules for business need not be given;
suffice it to say that these rules were somewhat carefully prepared. There
were to be two regular sessions of 3 hours each week, each including a secret
meeting. The members were to be divided by the president into 3 sections
or committees: 1st, on missions and finance, 3 persons; 2d, on police regu-
lations, 2 persons; 3d, on education, agriculture, industry, and govt of the
dip., 2 persons. The committees named were: 1st, Ortega, Bandini, and
Martinez; 2d, Estrada and Tapia; 3d, Carrilloand Buelna. June 23d, Estrada's
prop, that vessels be allowed provisionally to touch at the minor landing-
places with the governor's consent, approved and referred to committee.
Bandini introduced a manifesto urging certain changes and reductions in
duties; that the supreme government be asked for teachers for a college or
academy; and that Los Angeles be declared provisionally the capital of the
territory, with the title of city. June 26th, tax on wine and brandy regulated
according to report of committee on finance. In afternoon Alvarado elected
secretary, Martinez resigning. June 28th, sec. sworn in. Additional regula-
tions of the liquor traffic. June 30th, July 2d, liquor traffic continued. Mar-
tinez allowed to join his company in S. Francisco. July 7th, liquor regulations
concluded. Bandini's proposition to make Los Angeles the capital taken up,
but no action. Gov. proposed a change in the name of the territory. See text.
July 13th, Echeandia's proposition discussed and approved, subject to decision
of supreme government. Orteganotallowed to retire until Bandini should come.
Contador appointed. July 16th, petition from padres that vessels be allowed to
touch at the landings of Sta InCz and Purisima. No power to act. July 17th,
18th, 20th, Sept. 19th-20th, action on revenue matters, involving the investi-
ation of charges against Herrera, and resulting measures directed against him.
See chap. iii. Pacheco as vocal suplente sworn in on July 20th. July 2-lth,
long discussion on Bandini's commercial propositions, in which Comisario
Herrera took part. See chap. iii. Contador Gonzalez takes oath of office.
Bandini and Tapia granted leave of absence; Suplentes Estudillo and Alviso
summoned. July 31st, Aug. 4th, 9th, 11th, 17th, Sept. 12th, regulations re-
specting live-stock and branches of commerce and police therewith connected.
Alvicoswornin Aug. 4th. Aug. 17th, Echeandia reportshaving ordered the pre-
fect to establish a school in each mission. Sept. 1st, ayuntamiento called in and 5
new members elected provisionally. See note 9. Sept. 11th, report received
of removal of a local officer at Los Angeles. The next session regularly
recorded, after Sept. 20th, was on July 10, 1830. Leg. Bee, MS., i. 47-
1C4. Incidental mention, Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt. i. 34; St. Pap., Sac,
MS., xix. 39; Dept Rec, MS., v. 50, 126. June 22d, Echeandia to minister
of relations asks if the sub-comisario should attend as* intendente, and it he
and the writer should have a vote. Alvarado, Hist. Gal., MS., ii. 118-21,
represents Echeandia as having opened the sessions with a long discourse, in
which he explained the situation of the territory, the policy of Mexico, and
all that he had done since his arrival. This writer states that all the acts of
the diputacion in 1827-9 were really the work of Echeandia. Duhaut-Cilly,
38 ECHEAXDlA'S RULE-POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
One act of this diputacion merits further notice,
which may as well be presented in the words of the i
original record: " The committee presented the prop-
osition made by his excellency the president at the
session of the 7th — this being July 13th — namely, that
there be proposed to the supreme government a change
in the name of the territory, and also in that of the
Pueblo de Los Angeles, in order to distinguish the lat-
ter from the city of Puebla de Los Angeles, capital of
the state of Puebla, which after close examination the
committee reported for discussion, with the sugges-
tions that the territory be named Moctezuma, and
that to the pueblo be given the name of Villa Vic-
toria de la Peina de Los Angeles; also that there
should be proposed to the supreme government as a
coat of arms for the territory ' an Indian with plume,
bow, and quiver, in the act of crossing a strait, all
within an oval having on the outside an olive and an
oak,' in memory of the first peopling of these Amer-
cas, which according to the most common opinion was
by the strait of Anian; all of which, after sufficient
discussion, was approved." So far as the records show,
no attention w r as paid to this proposition in Mexico,
and fortunately California escaped the burden of a new
and inappropriate name, founded on one of the least
reliable traditions of American antiquity. 11
Echeandia did not extend his tour northward to
San Francisco, perhaps not beyond Monterey; and I
have not been able to find the general report on the
Viaggio, i. 282, who attended some of the meetings, tells ns the diputados
were mere puppets in the governor's hands. Echeandia would make a propo-
sition supported by specious pretences and prosy arguments; sometimes by
previous agreement one or two trusted ones would offer some weak objection
for the president to overthrow; if any other dared to oppose, he was inter-
rupted with a reprimand; did any one wince at the last moment, a look con-
trolled his vote. This, of course, though amusing, is grossly exaggerated.
1 ' Leg. Rec. , MS. , i. G2-3. On Nov. 3d, Echeandia forwarded this act to the
secretary of relations, Dept St. Pap., MS., ii. 44, and he included with it
the proposition to make Los Angeles the capital as well as a villa, though the
1 dative record docs not show the diputacion to have approved Bandini's
on to that effect. Taylor mentioned this proposed change of name in a
paper article, and from him apparently it was taken by Tuthill. Hist.
<<:'., 123.
GONZALEZ AND THE GOVERNOR. 30
condition of the country which he probably made as a
result of his inspection. 1 ' 2 For reasons with which
the reader is familiar, Echeandia had a somewhat cool
reception at Monterey; but by his policy at the cap-
ital he did much to remove the current prejudice, and
to gain the good will of that class of Californians
which constituted the progressive republican element.
His course in the Herrera quarrel pleased Estrada and
his large circle of friends, and he disavowed certain
unpopular sentiments which his foes had attributed to
him, such as approval of making California a penal
colony.
Another affair which helped to give Echeandia a
better standing at Monterey was his method of deal-
ing with Captain Miguel Gonzalez. This Mexican
officer had by virtue of his rank held the place of
comandante de armas since 1826, greatly to the dis-
gust of lieutenants Estudillo and Estrada, and of all
the Californian officers and soldiers. Gonzalez is
said — by his enemies, it must be remembered — to have
been an ignorant, brutal, and despotic man, popularly
known as El Macaco, the 'ugly ape.' The regular
cavalry company, officers and men, accused him of
arbitrary acts, and of partiality to the Mexican troops
of his own artillery detachment and the others; while
he complained of insubordination on the part of the
Californians. It is not very important, even if it were
possible, to investigate the details and merits of this
quarrel. Mexican and Californian officers were in-
clined to look down, each upon the other, from a
height of superiority; but the revolution gave commis-
sions to many ruffians, and there is no special reason
to doubt that Gonzalez was one of them. In Febru-
ary 1827 he wrote long and somewhat incoherent
complaints to Echeandia, asking to be relieved of his
12 Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 127-35, says he was received enthusiasti-
cally at Sta Barbara, contrary to his expectations, founded on the influence of
the friars there; yet it was at this very time that two padres at Sta B. fled
from Cal., as we shall see elsewhere. Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 266-71,
notes a grand reception at San Jose\ and a rather cool one at Sta Clara.
40 ECHEANDIA'S EULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
command, but refusing to be subordinate in any way
to Estrada or Argucllo. Usurping Estrada's author-
ity over the presidial district outside of Monterey, he
put that officer under arrest; but Echeandia affirmed
Estrada's powers and ordered his release. 13 When the
governor tame to Monterey in May, he soon took
sides against Gonzalez, administering frequent repri-
mands, and finally in November ordered him to pre-
pare for a march to Santa Barbara, in order that
peace might be restored by his absence. How far
Echeandia was influenced by the fact that Gonzalez
was the friend and father-in-law of Herrera/ 4 we have
no means of knowing. 15 It would appear that Gon-
zalez did not accompany Echeandia to the south in
December, or that he returned immediately; for in
February 1828 he was suspended from his command
and put under arrest at Monterey by Estrada, at the
governor's order, after some investigations had been
conducted by Lieutenant Pacheco. At the end of
the year he was ordered to leave the country on the
Maria Ester, in accordance with instructions of May
31st from Mexico; but he was at San Diego as late as
April 1830. 16
13 Feb. 22, 24, 1827, Gonzalez to gov. Dept St. Pap., MS., ii. 2-7, 10-11.
March Gth, Apr. 10th, gov. to Gonzalez. Dept Pec., MS., v. 32, 3G-7.
14 Of Dona Alfonsa, the beautiful wife of J. M. Herrera and daughter of
Capt. Gonzalez, we shall hear more in later years.
15 June 13th, Gonzalez to gov., protesting against firing a salute on corpus
cristi day. Dept St. Pap. , MS. , ii. 25. July 14th, 27th, Sept. 27th, Nov. 16th,
19th, 20th, 21st, gov. to Gonzalez, with repremands for misconduct and disre-
spect — including the shooting at an alcalde, and allowing his wife to meddle
in official business. The order to prepare to march for Sta Barbara was on
Nov. lGth. Nov. 21st, gov. to alcaldes, stating his orders for Gonzalez' depart-
ure and forbidding any insulting or sarcastic remarks about that officer or his
men or his family. Dept Pec, MS., v. G4, G9-70, 92-3, 108-11.
16 Dec. 15, 1827, Pacheco ordered to continue investigations. Dept Pec.,
MS., v. 117. Feb. 14, 1828, Echeandia to Gonzalez, ordering his suspension
and arrest for intrigue among the troops to keep himself in power; for dis-
turbances at various places; for ignorance, disobedience, and inciting of in-
subordination. Id., vi. 183-4. Feb. 22d, Estrada has arrested Gonzalez. St.
Pap., MS., xii. 13. Feb. 29th (?), Echeandia's order to Estrada. Dept St.
J'(i]>., ii. 73. Nov. 9th, gov. orders Gonzalez to leave on the Maria Ester.
Dept Rec, MS., vi. 131. Dec. 22d, to same effect. PL, vi. 161. Dec. 9th,
however, he was ordered across the frontier by land en route to Loreto. Id.,
yii. 260. Apr. 23, 1829, testimony of Gonzalez at S. Diego about a statement
in a Mexican newspaper that he had destroyed a Spanish flag. Dept St.
Pup., Pet. MIL, MS., lxxx.-vii. 72. Feb. 5, 1830, order from secretary of
ELECTIONS OF 1828. 41
Back at San Diego in April 1828, 17 Echeandia
summoned his diputados to assemble, presumably at
San Diego; 18 but there is no record of any action of the
body this year, and little or no evidence that it met at
all, except perhaps, as Alvarado says, to protest against
the holding of meetings out of the capital, to listen
to Echeandia's views on the subject, and to adjourn. 19
Later in the year, however, at an electoral junta held
at San Diego on October 6th, the diputacion was re-
organized by the choice of four new members. 20 All
war for Gonzalez to proceed to Mexico. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., vi. 1.
Inocente Garcia, Hechos, MS., 40, 44, says that one of the offences for which
Gonzalez was sent away was the arbitrary infliction on him, Garcia, of 100
palos without trial, and he not being a soldier. Beechey, Voyage, ii. 57, 85,
speaks of Gonzalez as having risen from the ranks by his own merit.
17 En r6sum6, E. , as shown by his corresp., had left S. Diego late in
Marcli 1827; was at Sta Barbara during a large part of April; arrived at
Monterey about the middle of May, and left there late in Nov.; was at Sta
B. from Dec. until March; and returned to S. Diego early in April.
18 April 10, 1828, Echeandia's summons to Estudillo, Alviso,Buelna, Ortega,
Bandini, and Tapia to meet as agreed upon at the close of the last sessions,
but not naming the place. Dept Pec, MS., vi. 19S. Buelna and Anastasio
CarrillO mentioned as members in Sept. Id., vi. 92. Aug. 9th, E. orders Habili-
tado Domingo Carrillo (of S. Diego) to pay out of the municipal funds Alvarado's
salary of $25 per month as secretary. Id., vi. 81. Other indications of Al-
varado's presence as secretary at S. Diego as late as Dec. Dept St. Pap.,
Ben. Mil., MS., lxvi. 90-1. Alvarado's own version is confused in respect to
dw.tes, representing a first visit to S. Diego as having been in 182G, before E.'s
visit to the north.
19 Alvarado, Hist. Col., MS., ii. 139-40; iii. 14-22, tells us that when the
diputados arrived at S. Diego they sent him as secretary to inform the governor
of their presence and that they awaited his message. The first act on assem-
bling in the large hall of the comandancia was to protest on motion of Buelna
against meeting away from the capital. Echeandia received the protest
courteously, and a few days later explained his theory that as com an dan to
general he had the right to live where he could do most for the interests of
the country, that is in his opinion at S. Diego. The diputacion replied that
if he had that right, it as a body had it not, but was required by law to meet
at the capital under the presidency of the senior vocal in the absence of the
^gefc politico. Echcandia replied: 'I do not object. Let the diputado.3 re-
turn to Monterey if they like.' The governor, however, had some resentment
against Alvarado, in whose handwriting was the protest. Soon, on account
of a quarrel with P. Menendez, chaplain of the troops — a Dominican whece
wine he had been drinking and whose sermons he had been writing — Alvarado
was summoned before the gefe politico, and reprimanded for disrespect to a
friar. A stormy scene followed, in which the young secretary — so he says —
crowded Echeandia into a corner, pretended to have a dagger, and finally
induced him to become calm, talk the matter over, and listen to reason. They
parted friends, and E. went so far as to explain his real reason for choosing
to live at S. Diego, viz., his fear of Herrera and his confederates, who had
plotted to seize him and send him to Mexico !
20 These were Carlos A. Carrillo, Pio Pico, Vicente Sanchez, and Jose"
Tiburcio Castro, as 4th, 5th, Gth, and 7th respectively. Adas de. Elecclones,
MS., 8; Ley. Pec, MS., i. 127; Dept St. Pap., S. Jose, MS., ii. 12; Dept Bee',
42 ECHEANDIA'S RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
were summoned to assemble at San Diego on January 1 ,
1829 ; and they seem to have done so, part of them, at
least, only to prove unmanageable, and to be dismissed
by the gefe politico. Immediately after the suspen-
sion of the southern session, a summons was issued
for the cliputados to convene at Monterey June 1st,
and proceed to public business under the presidency
of the senior vocal; but I find no evidence that any
such meeting was held; in fact, Echeandia himself
had no confidence that his summons would be heeded.
Thus it may be said that in 1828-9 the legislature
was not in session. 21
In December 1829 Echeandia started northward
again, and on the way summoned the cliputacion to
meet, this time at Santa Barbara by reason of the
troubles at Monterey. Possibly the body did assem-
ble there, but only to adjourn; 22 for the troubles, to
MS., vi. 108. At the same time Manuel Dominguez, Salvio Pacheco, and
Carlos Castro were chosen as 1st, 2d, and 3d suplentes. The first thrco
places were held respectively by Bandini, Anastasio Carrillo, and Buelna,
who held over from the old board. St. Pap., Sac, MS., xix. 42-3.
21 Dec. 1828, summons to Pico, Sanchez, and Dominguez to meet at S. Diego
on Jan. 1st. Dept Rec, MS., vi. 159. Feb. 19, 1829, gov. permits Domin-
guez to retire because it is impossible to have any session, 3 of 5 members having
refused to attend. Id., vii. 88. May 22d, gov. says that the diputados sum-
moned to S. Diego had not wished to come on account of the illegality cf
meeting except at the capital ; therefore he asks them to go on at Monterey
without his presence. Id., vii. 1G4. April 10th, gov. tells the minister of rela-
tions that he suspended the junta on account of its 'desorganization,' attri-
butable largely to the influence of Vicente Sanchez, prompted as he believes
by Herrera. He proceeds to give a description of each of the 10 members
in respect of character, ability, education, and property — in no case a
flattering picture. Doubts that the diputados can be induced to leave their
private affairs to meet even in Monterey. /(/., vii. 4-6. It does not seem
likely, however, that Sanchez, a Los Angeles man, should have plotted in favor
of Monterey. Don Pio Pico, Hist. Cal., MS., 17-19, says that at S. Diego
there Mas just a quorum, and that he prevented the session by insisting on it3
being held at Angeles, and withdrawing when his wish was not followed,
lie also went to Monterey, and met Jose T. Castro, the only other proprietary
member present. April 9th, summons to convene at Monterey June 1st.
Dept Rec, MS., vii. 128. May 10th, Wm. A. Cale, in a letter to Cooper
from S. Pedro, mentions the meeting ordered for June 1st. Yallejo, Doc, MS.,
xxix. 354. It seems that Sanchez wa3 suspended from his position as dipu-
tedo in the course of this affair. Dept Rec, MS., vii. 2G0.
22 Dee. 8, IS29, E. from S. Gabriel to Sanchez, Pico, and Bandini, revoking
the suspension of the first, and urging all to hasten as patriots to Sta Barbara,
in view of the critical condition. Dept Rec, MS., vii. 2G0. Jan. 18, 1830,
similar summons to the Carrillos. Id., viii. 10. Feb. 5th, E. to comandante
at Monterey, states that the diputacion did meet to devise means for the
restoration of tranquillity. Dept St. Pap., MS., ii. 128.
SESSIONS OF THE LEGISLATURE. 43
be described in the next chapter, having passed, the
governor went at the end of March to the capital,
where he succeeded with some difficulty in getting
together four of the vocales, 23 and regular sessions
were held from July 10th to October 7th, save that
for one month during this period the members were
r.llowed leave of absence to attend to their harvests. -
I append in a note an abstract of legislative action,
much of which is noticed more fully elsewhere in
connection with the special topics treated. 24
The electoral junta which met at San Diego and
™Dept Bee, MS., viii. 25, 53, 61; Dept St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., ii. 4;
Leg. Bee, MS., i. 130. The four were Buelna and Jose T. Castro, with Sal-
vio Pacheco and Carlos Castro as suplentes. Other members came in later.
21 July 10th, the four members sworn in. Alvarado was still secretary.
Castro and Buelna were named for 1st committee; Pacheco for the 2d; and
Carlos Castro for the 3d. July 14th, a proposition was presented by the com-
mittee on education, that schools be established at such missions as had none.
July 16th, Juan B. Alvarado was appointed contador de propios y arbitrios
(municipal treasurer), in accordance with a decree of the cortes in 1813. Sal-
ary, $15 per month. July 16th, secret session. Regulations on the proposed
mission schools. July 20th, the matter of instructions to the newly appointed
contador was referred to a com. The reglamento adopted in 1827 was
modified in some respects, the changes including provision for 3 sessions
a week, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The president then submit-
ted to the diputaeion his plan for changing all the missions into pueblos. See
chap. iv. July 23d, voted $30 dollars a month to P. Menendez as chaplain.
The president made a speech on the necessity of making a beginning of
establishing an ayuntamiento at Monterey and Sta Barbara, according ta the
bando of Dec. 15, 1820, and decree of June 23, 1813, and consequently of
assigning bounds to pueblo lands. A salary of $20 per month was voted for
the teacher of S. Diego. July 24th, boundaries of the egidos of Monterey
were fixed. See local annals. July 28th, boundaries of the jurisdiction of
Monterey, continued. July 29th, same subject, continued. Also the secu-
larization project taken up, and the first articles approved. See chap. iv. July
31st, Aug. 3d, approval of Echeandia's secularization plan concluded. Aug.
6th, the subject of convict settlers discussed, the dip. strongly disapproving the
sending of any more of them to Cal., expressing a desire to get rid of those
now here as soon as possible, but approving Echeandia's plan of a public
workshop for such as had trades. It was voted to ask the sup. govt that
only good and useful families be sent in the future. Aug. 10th, a reglamento
in G articles for the contador de propios y arbitrios discussed and approved.
Details of keeping the books of the office, etc. Aug. 13th, establishment
of two convents approved as a supplement to the secularization project.
Aug. 17th, a tariff of duties on timber established. See chap. v. Aug. 21st,
24th, certain members ask and receive leave of absence for 15 days. Others
were to be summoned, but it seems this was not a success, since there were
no more meetings for more than a month. Sept. 29th, at Bandini's request the
difficulties of getting a quorum in attendance were put on record. Sept. 30th,
approval of land grants to Ignacio Vallejo and Dolores Pico, in accordance
with the colonization law of Nov. 24, 1828. Oct. 7th, sessions closed because
several members wished to go home to attend to private business. Leg. Bee,
MS., i. 130-72.
44 ECHEANDIA'S RULE -POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
chose the diputacion whose acts I have just recorded
assembled in obedience to a proclamation issued by
Echeandia on July 30, 1828, which not only ordered
an election, but prescribed in detail the methods to be
followed. 25 The primary object was to elect a mem-
23 Echeandia, Bando sobre Elecciones, 1828, MS. This document was in
substance as follows: 1-2. Elections to be primary, or municipal; secondary,
or of the partido; and tertiary, or territorial. Must be accompanied by pub-
lic prayers. 3-6. Primary juntas shall include all citizens over 18 years of
age resident in the partidos. Sentenced criminals, men morally or physically
incapable, vagabonds, and domestic servants were not voters. 7-9. Primary
elections to be held on 3d Sunday in Aug. in plaza of the 4 presidios and 2
pueblos, presided by comandantes and alcaldes, in the morning after mass, a
secretary and 2 inspectors being chosen. 10-12. Challenging voters, etc. 13.
Municipal electors to be chosen as follows: 8 for S. Francisco; 5 for S. Jos;*;
9 for Monterey; 7 for Sta Barbara; 7 for Los Angeles; and 13 (?) for S. Di-
ego. 14-15. Method of voting. The voter to repeat the names of his candi-
dates, to be written down by the sec. He may have the names on a list,
which the secretary must read aloud. 1G— 17. The president to announce the
result. A tie to be decided by lot. Each elector chosen to receive a copy cf
the acta. 18-22. A candidate must be a citizen, etc.; 2.5 years old, or 21 if
married; able to read and write; holding no office, civil, military, or ecclesias-
tical. Cannot excuse himself. No weapons at the election. No other busi-
ness to be done by the junta. 23-5. Secondary juntas, or partido elections,
to be held on 1st Sunday in Sept., at same places as the primary; under same
presiding officer; composed of the municipal electors before chosen. 26-8.
Three days before the election the electors meet and choose a secretary and 2
inspectors. Next day, credentials presented. Next day, report on creden-
tials. 29-32. Election by secret ballot. If no one has a majority, there
must be a 2d ballot from the 2 highest candidates, a tie being decided by lot.
Three votes at least required for election. 33-5. An elector de partido must
have 5 years' residence in the partido in addition to the other qualifications.
(See 18-22.) Credentials, a certified copy of the acta, given to the successful
candidate, and also sent to the president of the territorial junta. 36-8. Ter-
tiary or territorial junta to consist of the 6 electores de partido, and to meet
at S. Diego on 1st Sunday in Oct. being presided by the highest political
authority present. 39-41. Preliminary meetings for 3 days, as in secondary
.lections. 42-G. Election first of a diputado, and then of a suplente.
Method as before, except that the meeting must be with open doors, the
voting viva voce, and 5 electors at least must take part. 47-52. Qualifi-
cations for a diputado to congress: 25 years of age, and two years of citizen-
ship in the state if not born in it; 8 years of citizenship, and an estate of
88,000 or income of $1,000, if not born in Mexican territory. Property qual-
ification not required of those born in Spanish America who have not joined
another nation. Certain high officials debarred. 53-6. Method and form cf
credentials. 57. The day after this election of a congressman, the junta is
to renew the territorial dip. by electing the new members required, in tho
same manner as before. 58. After the election, all officers, electors, and clecu
shall pass to the church, where shall he sung a solemn to deum of thanksgiving.
On pp. 125-30, in continuation of the preceding bando, there are partial
records of the primary and secondary elections at the different places except
S. Francisco. The electors who met at S. Diego were Miguel Gonzalez do
Aluva, for S. Jose; Jose Tiburcio Castro, for Monterey; Francisco Atanaso
Cota, for Sta Barbara; Manuel Dominguez, for Los Angeles; and Agustin V.
Zamorano, for 8. Diego. Leg. Ilec, MS., i. 126; Dept Bee, MS., vi. 107;
Adas de ElecciG?ies, MS., C-7. In the last-named authority, the election of
MAITORENA FOR CONGRESS. 45
ber of congress to take the place of Gervasio Argiie-
llo for the term of 1829-30; and on Sunday, Octo-
ber 5th, Lieutenant Jose Joaquin Maitorena of Santa
Barbara was chosen for the place, with Santiago Ar-
giiello as substitute. This was a most extraordinary
choice; for Maitorena, though honest enough and
good-natured, was unreservedly given up to drunken-
ness, and had retained his place in the Santa Barbara
company only because he had when sober some skill
as an accountant. There were times, generally fol-
lowing illness and confinement in the calabozo, when,
like Rip van Winkle, he ' swore off'; perhaps it was in
one of these sober intervals that he was elected to con-
gress. But the honor was too much for the poor fel-
low. He was very drunk at Tepic, where he was the
object of much ridicule; he seems not to have been
in a condition to take his seat as diputado, and he
died in Mexico about the time his term of office ex-
pired." 26
Maitorena by 3 votes and Arguello by 4 is recorded, as also in St. Pap., Sac,
MS., xix. 48; Dept. St. Pap., S. Jos6, MS., iv. 74; and Leg. Pec, MS., i. 139.
Eclieandia's bando is also found in Dept. St. Pap.,S. Jose", MS., iv. 55-71.
Aug. 1 st, E. orders comandantes and alcaldes to publish the bando. Dept. Pec,
MS., vi. 74. Nov. 1823, Jan. 1 829, E. orders Maitorena to start for Mexico. PL,
vii. 70; vi. 128. June 25, 1829, Echeandia explains to minister of justice
the arrangement of election districts, S. Gabriel and S. Fernando being
joined to Los Angeles, and Sta Clara and Sta Cruz to S. Jose. Id., vii. 23.
- 6 Jos6 Joaquin Maitorena entered the military service as a soldado distin-
guido, his father having been an officer in 1800; came to Cal. in 1801 as cadet
in the Sta Barbara company; was made alferez in 180G; and after several rec-
ommendations from governor and comandante he was finally promoted to be
lieutenant of the company in 1827. Prov. St. Pap., MS., xxi. 58; Dept. Pec,
MS., v. 39, 121-2; Doc Hist. Cal., MS., iv. G55-G. 1816-21, corresp. of Sola
and Guerra, with frequent mention of Maitorena's drunkenness, and the result-
ing troubles to his family as well as to the public service. Guerra, Doc, MS.,
iii. 95-0, 101, 113; iv. 4, 1G-19, and passim; Prov. St. Pap., MS., xx. 110. From
1822 to 1827 little is said on the subject, and it is probable that Don Joaquin
behaved himself better than before. His actions at Tepic, where he stayed
two months on his way to Mexico, are described in a letter of Manuel Varela,
dated Tepic, Aug. 1, 1829. Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 135-7. He was constantly
intoxicated; attracted the attention of everybody by his foolish actions and re-
marks; was initiated into a mock lodge of masons; and had a ludicrous quarrel
with the treasurer to whom he applied for money on account of his vidticos. Car-
los Carrillo, in a letter from Tepic of April 2, 1831, gives the remaining details
of Maitorena's life as learned from Navarro, the member from Lower Cal. In
Mexico he was rarely in his right mind, and was not deemed in a fit condition
to take his seat, though his credentials were admitted, and part of his salary
was paid. He died probably late in 1830 of apoplexy caused by his dissipa-
tion. Guerra, Doc, MS., iv. 199-200. The vagaries of this congressman are
46 ECHEANDIA'S RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
Thus California was not represented in the congress
of 1829-30, for there is no evidence that Santiago
Argiiello went to the national capital at all; yet the
territory received some slight notice from the Mexican
authorities. The minister of the treasury department
included in his report some information respecting
Californian finances, 27 which, so far as it is intelligible,
will he utilized elsewhere. The military establishment
was also honored with brief mention, and an ayudante
inspector, an officer unknown in California since the
time of Captain Soler, was sent to aid General Echean-
dia, in the person of Lieutenant-colonel Jose Maria
Padres, who came up from Loreto in the summer of
1830. 2S To supply another urgent need of the terri-
tory, where there were as yet no lawyers, the licenci-
ado Rafael Gomez was sent to California as asesor, or
legal adviser. He arrived about the same time as
Padres, and took the oath of office at San Diego on
August 18, 1830. 29 The political struggles, revolu-
also noticed in Alvarado, lint. CaL, MS., ii. 122-6; Fernandez, Cosasde CaL,
MS., 33-7; Vcdlejo, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 18-24. Alvarado attributes to him
many good qualities, although admitting his faults. Maitorena left some
kind of a quarrel with Capt. Miguel Gonzalez, which both Gov. Victoria and
Gov. Figueroa were ordered to investigate; but finally in 1834 Capt. Zam-
orano suggested that, Maitorena being dead, the matter might as well be
dropped. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxiv.
21 Mexico, Mem. Hacienda, 1830, annexes 24, 33, 37, 41, 43, 44, 52, 50, 57,
64. Aug. 17, 1829, law imposing a forced loan on California with other ter-
ritories, and discounting salaries. Sept. 15th, decrees creating a fund for the
war against Spain; but exempting the troops of California from the discount
on pay, on account of their position on an Indian frontier. Arrillaya, Peco-
pilacionde Leyes, 1829, p. 214-23; 1831, 24-30, 48.
28 In Mexico, Mem. Guerra, 1830, annex. 1-3, the force in the Californias
i3 given as 422 cavalry, supported at a cost of $131,440. Feb. 11, 1830, order
to merge tlic S. Bias company into the regular presidial companies. Sup. Govt
St. /'a//., M.S., vi. 2. Arrival of Padres at S. Diego on the Leonor on July
1, 1830. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., vi. 9; Carrillo {J.), Hoc, MS., 27-8; Dept.
St. Pap., Ben. Md., MS., lxxii. 21.
29 Gomez's taking possession of the office. Hept. St. Pap., S. Jose 1 , MS., iv.
91 ; Id., Mont., vi. 0; Id., Ben. Mi'., lxxii. 21, 42; Dept. Pec, MS., viii. 92.
He had a salary of 8:5,000. The law creating the office seems to have been
dated .July or Aug. 29, 1829. In his report of Jan. 1031 the sec. of justice
recommended that the asesor be made judge as well, with appeal to the near-
est circuit court instead of Mexico, on account of the great distance. Mexico,
Mem. Justkia, 1831, p. 7, annex 4. Mexico, Mem. Hacienda 1832, annex N.
Oct. 1-', L829, Virmond from Mexico announces the appointment of the fol-
lowing officers for California: Rafael Gonzalez, administrator of customs at
Monterey; MaauelJimeno Casarin, contador of custom-house; Francisco i'ercz
A PENAL COLONY. 47
tions, and counter-revolutions for the presidency, be-
tween Gomez Pedraza, Guerrero, and Bustamante, in
the years 1828-30, made no impression, in fact were
hardly known, in California. 30 Other national meas-
ures, with a single exception, require no special atten-
tion. 31
The exception was in the matter of utilizing Cali-
fornia as a penal colony for Mexican criminals. A
small number of convicts had arrived, as we have seen,
in 1825, and now orders were issued to send them
from all parts of the republic. 32 These instructions,
which the Mexican authorities had the assurance to
regard as a means for improving the morals of the
convicts and for colonizing California, were much
more promptly obeyed, it is safe to say, than if they
had been calculated to benefit the territory; and within
a year more than a hundred criminals had been sen-
tenced to presidio work in this northern Botany Bay. 33
Echeandia protested rather feebly, as soon as the news
Pacheco, comandante of the resguardo; and Lieut. Zamorano, promoted to
captain. Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 145.
30 Sept. 9, 1820, news of Pres. Guerrero's accession received. Dept. Rec,
MS., vii. 222. Feb. 19, 1829, gov. forbids communication with Acapulco,
and adhesion to the plan de Perote. Id., vii. 87. March 14th, communication
reopened. Id., vii. 109.
31 Jan. 21, 1828, orders from Mexico circulated to send in bids for repairs
on the public roads. May 21st, no bids. Echeandia, however, recommends the
opening of a road to Sonora, and one from Sta Barbara to S. Diego. Dept.
Rec, MS., vi. 173; vii. 17. Jan. 30, 1829, minister of justice wants a list of
ayuntamientos, jurisdictions, prisoners, etc. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., v. 1.
Congress urged to give the Californias a form of government suited to their
interests, since now the old Spanish laws prevail. Mexico, Mem. Relaciones,
1829, p. 21.
32 April 29, 1829, secretary of justice issues a circular urging judges to sen-
tence criminals to California presidios instead of Vera Cruz. Order trans-
mitted by secretary of war. May 9th, further orders to governors of different
states about forwarding convicts. Arrillana, Recop., 1829, p. 67-9. Oct. 21st,
sec. of war to comandante of Acapulco. The govt will send to Cal. the fami-
lies of such convicts as may desire it. Id., p. 2G9-70. March 22d, the govt
expects improvement in the morals of the convicts, is preparing a regulation
for their management, and to give them the means of earning an honest liv-
ing, forwarding their families, etc. Mexico, Mem. Justicia, 1830, p. 13, 19-20.
33 1 have before me the records of sentence of very many of these criminals,
with name, place, date, and crime, in Vcdlcjo, Doc, MS., xxix. 408-80; St.
Pap., Den., MS., i. 82-9; Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxxx. 12-13; Id.,
Ben. Oust. -II., MS., iv. 484-5. List of 80 convicts brought to Cal. on the
Maria Ester, with full particulars, in St. Pap., Bon., MS., i. 8G-9; Dept. St.
Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxii. 19. List of GO convicts sentenced to California
before Dec. 1829. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 85; St. Pap., Sac, MS., xi. 10-12.
4S ECHEANDIA'S RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
came, in September 1829, against the sending of any
but 'useful' convicts, since California had no jails, and
the local government could be responsible neither for
the safety of the criminals nor for the morals of the
community thus exposed to contamination. 34 Of
course this had no effect; and in February 1830 the.
Maria Ester brought up about eighty of the unwel-
come colonists from Acapulco to San Diego. Cap-
tain Holmes was not allowed to land them in the
governor's absence, and went on to Santa Barbara in
March. A sergeant and twelve soldiers were in
charge of the convicts. 85
How to dispose of the new-comers was a question
of much perplexity. Nobody wanted anything to do
with them; and a month passed before any decision
was reached, perhaps before they were landed at all;
and then, late in April, thirty of the worst of them,
and probably many more, were sent over to Santa
Cruz Island with a supply of cattle and fish-hooks to
get a living as best as they could; while the rest were
set to work for private employers in the region of
Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. 36 Protests were re-
31 Sept. 18, 1829, E. to sup. govt. Dept. Bee, MS., vii. 38-40. In Doc.
Hist. <"'//., MS., iv. 897, I find an unsigned document dated Mexico, April
25, 1830, purporting to be addressed by the diputado of Cal. to the sup. govt,
in which the writer protests against the sending of convicts. If there is no
error, this would indicate that Maitorena did make at least one honest effort to
serve his constituents.
35 The Maria Ester left Acapulco Dec. 19th, touched at S. Bias and S. Lucas,
and lost one convict on the voyage. The exact number varies from 77 to 83
in different documents. The Enriqueta was reported to be coming with more
convicts. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 133; Id., Cust.-H., i. 32-3; Id., Ben.
Cust.-H., iii. 55-6; Dept. Bee, MS., viii. 25, 28, 50.
3(i Com. Carrillo's letters to the governor about landing the convicts on Sta
Rosa Island in March- Apr. 1S30. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxviii.
1-3. April 23d, the Maria Ester sailed for Sta Cruz Island with 31 of the
number, the missions furnishing some tools, cattle, hooks, and a little grain.
( 'arritto (J.), Doc, MS., 22. March 18th, Echeandiatocomandante of Monte-
i y from S. Luis Obispo, explaining his plan to send — apparently all — the
<■ mvicta to the islands. Dept. Bee., MS., viii. 29-32. Mrs. Ord, Ocurrenc'ui*,
MS., 25-7, says the convicts were in»a naked and very filthy condition on
arrival. Capt. Guerra furnished them with clothing, made a speech
encouraging them to good conduct, and personally employed 8 or 10. At the
i ilanda a fire soon destroyed all they had, and after a time, getting no relief,
tiny built rafts, and all came over to the main, landing at Carpinterfa. The
narrator says that as a rule they became very good people. Nov. 2d, 13 of
those scut to the island had returned and presented themselves to the eomau-
dante. J>< j,t. Bee., MS., viii. 122.
COMING OF THE CONVICTS. 40
ceived from all directions; and at Monterey a meeting
was held in May to pass formal resolutions and appoint
a committee to wait on the gefe politico, and urge
the importance of sending the convicts back on the
same ship that brought them. 37 The diputacion passed
resolutions of similar purport in August, as has been
noted in the legislative records; but meanwhile, in
July, there had arrived the Leonor, Captain Fitch,
with fifty more convicts, about whom we have less
information than in the case of the first company. 33
With few exceptions, no attempt was made to con-
fine the criminals; but they were distributed througli
the territory to earn their living under a surveillance
of the local authorities, more nominal than real. A
few escaped across the frontier; and of those who
served out their time, a large part remained perma-
nently in California, where some were the founders of
respectable families. 39
The sending of the convicts and the resulting: clis-
cussions doubtless had an effect to embitter the feeling
that was beginning to exist between Californians and
Mexicans, particularly at Monterey, where the quar-
rel between Gonzalez and Estrada had originated a
sentiment of hostility which outlasted the Mexican
power in California. At the celebration of the inde-
pendence oil September 16, 1830, a free fight is said to
37 May 1, 1830, resolutions signed by Juan Malarin, Mariano Soberanes,
Jose" Castro, Antonio Osio, Juan B. Alvarado, Abel Stearns, Juan Cooper,
David Spence, and Wm Hartnell. 10 articles subsequently approved by
Echeandia. Dept. St. Pap., 8. Jost, MS., v. 34-5. May 30th, alcalde (?) of
Monterey to governor, speaks of the excitement caused by the arrival, the
greater because of the part taken by convicts in the Solis revolt; and begs in
the name of the citizens that thej" be not permitted to land. St. Pap., Sac,
MS., x. 89-90.
38 July 21, 1830, arrival of the Leonor at S. Diego, where 23 of the convicts
remained. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cust.-IT.,MS., iii. 54; Dept. Pec., MS., viii.
83. In the Atleta, Apr. 1, 1830, it is stated that Gen. Berdejo levied a tax
of $3 on such presidiarios as wished for freedom, and many destined for
California were set at liberty.
39 According to Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 69-73, Echeandia excused the
Mex. govt for sending convicts, on the ground of ignorance. ' El Gobierno
ignoraba que existiesen familias decentesy de educacion en la peninsula,' he
said to Lieut. Sanchez. A squad of soldiers came as a guard of this last as of
the first convict band. These soldiers seem to have been sent back to the south
soon. Alf. Antonio Nieto commanded the last squad.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. i
50 ECHEANDIA'S RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
have taken place in the governor's house between the
native-born youth of the capital and 'los de la otra
banda,' Juan B. Alvarado and Rodrigo del Pliego play-
ing the leading roles, and the occasion being an insult-
ing toast by Pliego. Later in the year, as the records
show, Jose Castro was arrested on a charge of posting
pasquinades and of publicly expressing his patriotic
contempt for the Mexicans. 40
On October 3, 1830, fivepartido electors, chosen by
the process already described, met at Monterey in ac-
cordance with Echeandfa's proclamation of August 1st,
and elected Carlos A. Carrillo as diputado to congress
for 1831-2, with Juan Bandini as substitute, Jose-
Antonio Carrillo and Agustin Zamorano being the
defeated candidates. Next day, the 4th, they chose
three new members, as required by law, to com-
plete the territorial diputacion, with the same number
of suplentes. The services of the officers thus chosen
belong: to the annals of another decade. 41
40 Carrillo (J.), Doc, MS., 30-1; Alvarado, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 116; iii. 8~
1 1 ; Voile jo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 1 13-15. Incomplete record of proceedings in the
Castro case. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxi. GO-6. On another occasion,
according to Alvarado, Jose Castro slapped Pliego's face in return for insulting
remarks on the lack of education among the Californians.
41 July 12, 1830, Mexico, Reglas para las elecciones de Diputados y de Ayunta-
mientos, del distrito y territorios de la Republica, 1830. Printed copy from de-
partment of the interior in Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxx. 90; also in Arrillaga, Re-
cop., 1830, p. 253-G3. Much of this law relates more particularly to the city
of Mexico, its blocks, wards, etc.; but in so far as it applies to California, it
does not differ materially from the regulations given in Echeandia's bando of
1828. Oct. 3, 1830, certificate of the election of Carrillo and Bandini, signed
by Echeandia and by the electors, who were: Domingo Carrillo, of Sta Bar-
bara; Juan Maria Osuna, of S. Diego; Jose Antonio Carrillo, of Los Angeles;
Jose" Pefia, of S. Francisco; and Juan Malarin, of Monterey. The document
was also signed by the alcalde of Monterey, and by Francisco Pacheco and
Antonio Buelna as witnesses. Doc. Hist. Cal, MS., i. 57. Names of electors
also in Adas de Elecciones, MS., 9-10; Luis Peralta, fromS. Jos6, was rejected
for want of proper credentials. Notice of Carrillo's election in Carrillo (J.),
Doc, MS., 31; Dept. Rec, MS., viii. 104. Record of municipal or primary elec-
tions at S. Francisco Aug. 15th; 9 electors chosen. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 6;
at Los Angeles, same date, Lou Angeles, Ayunt. Rec, MS., 6; at S. Diego,
Aug. 22d, 13 electors chosen. It is difficult to account for the large number
in comparison with other places. S. Diego, Arch., MS., 16-17. The three vo-
calea of the dip. chosen Oct. 4th to take the place of retiring members were
Mariano 6. Vallejo, 5th; Joaquin Ortega, 6th; Antonio Maria Osio, 7th. Su-
plentes: Francisco de Haro, 1st; Tomas Yorba, 2d; and Santiago Arguello,
3d. Art as da Ekccionee, MS., 11; Dept. Rec, MS., viii. 104. Oct. 7th, gov.
notifies Vallejo of his election. Vallrjo y Doc, MS., i. 7.
EXPULSION OF SPANIARDS. 51
From 1827 to 1829 the national government issued
a long and somewhat complicated series of laws and
regulations on the expulsion of all Spaniards from
Mexican territory, the principal laws being those of
December 20, 1827, and March 20, 1829. 42 By the
terms of the former, the classes exempt from expul-
sion were quite numerous, including those Spaniards
physically disabled, those over sixty years old, such
as were married to Mexican w 7 ives or had children
not Spaniards, professors of useful arts and sciences,
and all who had rendered special services to the cause
of independence, or who had manifested great affec-
tion for that cause. Such by taking the oath of
allegiance might remain. The chief application of
this law in California was of course to the friars, of
whom I shall speak separately; but there were also
other Spaniards in the territory. Echeandia seems
to have interpreted the law, or instructions that may
have been sent with it, to mean simply that resident
Spaniards were to be reported and required to take
the oath. Corresponding orders were issued and lists
were sent to Mexico in 1828. 43
42 Arrillaga, Recop., 1828-31, passim. Law of 1827 in Id., 1828, p. 100-
7; Law of 1829 in Id., 1831, p. 224-6. See also Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS.,
v. 2-5; xix. 44-54; Dept. St. Pap., MS., v. 23; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 5;
Dispos. Varices, ii. 55.
i3 Espanoles, Relation de Jos Militares Espanoles, que han prestado jura-
mento, con expresion da sus clases, edades, servicios, etc., 1828, MS. This list
Mas forwarded by Echeandia to the minister of war on Dec. 6th, and contains
the following names: Capt. Jos6 Maria Estudillo; Capt. Jose Bandini; Padre
Antonio Menendez; Lieut. Narciso Fabregat; Capt. Jose de la Guerra y
Noriega; Manuel Gutierrez, ranchero and capitalist, 82 years old, 40 years in
Cal. ; Vicente Can<5, one of the Asia's men; Juan Mariner, retired artillery-
man with rank of lieut. — over 60 — 33 years in Cal.; Manuel Gutierrez, 45
years, 7 in Cal.; Francisco Caceres, 36 years, 11 in Cal.; Jos£ Amesti, 33
years, 7 in Cal.; Estevan Munras, 39 years, 8 in Cal.; Antonio Suiiol, 35
years, 12 in Cal.; Ramon Espindola, artilleryman, 60 years; Antonio Peiia,
artilleryman, 50 years; Francisco Garcia, invalido, 60 years; Joaquin de la
Torre, 44 years, 25 in Cal.; Francisco Cayuelas, 80 years; Jaime Monyii, one
of the Asia's men; as were also Manuel Fogo and Salvador Garcia; Jos6
Fernandez, 25 years, 11 in Cal.; Luis Castro, deserter from the Aquiles; as
were also Jose Nadal, Francisco Fernandez, Francisco Filibert, Ramon Gbea,
sergt., Pablo Sobradelas, Jose M a Iglesias, trader, Miguel Culebras, trader:
Rafael Romero, 30 years, suspected thief; Juan Ign. Mancisidor, 40 years,
supercargo; Antonio Jose Cot, already embarked; Francisco Martinez, ha 3
passport; P. Luis Martinez, has passport. Contrary to the indication in the
title, many of those named had not taken the oath, but had been ordered to
52 ECHEANDIA'S RULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
The law of 1829 was more stringent than that of
1827, which it annulled, ordering the immediate ex-
pulsion of all Spaniards except those physically inca-
pable of departure and those who were sons of Amer-
ican-born parents. I find nothing in the law indicative
of any favor to such as had sworn allegiance; but so
it was evidently understood in California, where it was
promulgated in July. Nine men, nearly all deserters
from the Aquiles, were selected for exile, two of whom,
however, were allowed after all to remain; while all the
rest on different pretexts, chiefly of infirmity and addic-
tion to the republican cause, were deemed exempt. 44
Another branch of this national proscription was the
decree of May 10, 1827, debarring Spaniards from
holding any office or public employment until Spain
should recognize the independence of Mexico. Some
soldiers were discharged, and the officers Guerra, Es-
do so. There are several documents relating to different individuals of those
named above in Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 72, 95, 125-6, 153; vii. 204, 209; Dept.
St. Pap., MS., xix. 6-8, 19, 22, 45; St. Pap., Ben., MS., i. 73-5. Nov. 22d,
1328, Echeandia orders investigation of an insult offered to the national flag
c:i Sept. 16th; also outrages to old Spaniards. Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 136. Dec.
1828, Valencia arrested for saying that neither he nor Maitorena nor the
vecinos of Sta Barbara had sworn to the independence. Dept. St. Pap., Ben.
Pre/, y Jusg., MS., iii. 60. Dec. 14, 1827, R. C. Wyllie writes from
Mazatlan to Hartnell that all the states are expelling Spaniards. Vallejo,
Doc, MS. xxix. 182. May 9, 1829, Echeandia orders arrest of a Spanish
deserter who had forfeited his right to remain by serving two years under a
foreign flag. Dept. Rec., MS., vii. 156. May 30, 1820, J. M. Padres wrote to
the sup. govt, attributing the evils in Cal. to Spanish ideas, and complaining
that the law on expulsion had not been executed. Oct. 6, 1830, Minister
Alaman writes to the gov. for an explanation. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., vi.
1 J— 1 1 .
41 July 6, 1830, Echeandia proclaims the law of March 20, 1829. Dept Rec,
MS., viii. 190 1. July 24th, E. orders passports for the 6: Culebras, Obes,
Sobradelas, Francisco Fernandez, Iglesias, and Nadal. Id., MS., vii. 208.
Mancisidor was added to the list. The two exempted were Luis Castro, 60
years old; and Francisco Galindo, having a family (not in Echeandia's list).
Aug. 11th, governor's report to minister of relations. St. Pap., Sac, MS.,
x. 42-6. List of the nine at first deemed liable to expulsion. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Mil., MS., lxix. 29-30. List of nine Spaniards who ask to remain,
mostly on the ground of infirmity. Munras, however, simply wants an ex-
ion of time. Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. 11-14. Aug., 2 Spaniards at S.
Francisco; 2 at Los Angeles; and 16 at S. Diego. Id., xix. 1-2, 19. Nov. 3d,
list sent by gov. to Mexico of 12 who have claimed exemption. They were:
< rutierrez (2), Fabregat, Garcia (2), Sunol, Torre, Amesti, Munras, Fogo (or
. Joso* Fernandez, and Luis Castro. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 49-52.
ras asked for a passport to Ross, but was refused. Dept. Rec, MS., vii.
THE GOVERNOR'S DEMANDS. 53
tudillo, and Fabregat were suspended for a time,
though by decree of the president they received half-
pay — quite as good as full pay in those days. 45 Yet
another phase of the feeling against Spain was the
patriotic alarm and enthusiasm caused by the report
that a Spanish 'pirate' was cruising on the coast.
" The time has come to show once more to the uni-
verse that before submitting to Spanish rule we will
repose in the sepulchre," was the way the governor
put it. 46
Returning finally to Echeandia, and to matters more
closely connected with the governorship, we note that
from the beginning of 1827 he had insisted more and
more earnestly in his communications to the supreme
government on certain reforms and on further assist-
ance to himself and the territory. He demanded a
subordinate gefe politico for Lower California; an
ayudante inspector, who might assume the command
in case of his illness or death; additional clerical aid,
or the funds with which to procure such aid; more
military officers and troops, priests, war-vessels, judges,
and above all, money and improved financial manage-
ment. And if such aid could not be afforded, he re-
peatedly asked to be relieved from his command. 47
Some of his requests were granted. Jose Maria
45 Decree of May 10, 1827. Dept. St. Pap., Aug., MS., ix. 3. Half-pay
order, Oct. 1829. Id., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., ii. 7; Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Mil., MS., lxxix. 13. Guerra and others suspended. St. Pap., Sac, MS.,
x. G7; Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 18. Sept. 3, 1829, discharge of soldiers ordered
by Echeandia. Dept. Rec, MS., vii. 220. July 15th, a soldier at Sta Barbara
discharged. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxx. 16. Casares, or Caceres, one
of the Spaniards sent away, was a regidor of Monterey. Dept. Rec., MS., vi.
171.
i6 Dept. Rec., MS., vi. 94, 197, 264-6; vii. 83, 254. The pirate was re-
ported to be the Griego, Capt. Juan do Mata; and the alarm lasted more or
less from 1828 to 1830. The orders in 1828 were, however, that Spanish cap-
tains, supercargoes, pilots, etc., of vessels belonging to neutral nations were to
be allowed to transact their regular business at the ports, but must be
watched and not admitted to the interior. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and
Treas., MS., i. 105.
47 Jan. 9, May 25, Oct. 17, 19, Nov. 7, 1827; Oct. 20, 1828; Aug. 11, 1829,
E. to different national departments, complaining of difficulties, asking relief,
and, particularly on Nov. 7, 1827, offering his resignation. Dept. St. Pap.,
MS., ii. 44; Dept. Rec, MS., v. 125-0, 131, 133; St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 40-1,
44-5.
54 ECHEANDIA'S EULE— POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
Padres and Rafael Gomez were sent to California as
ayudante inspector and asesor, respectively. 48 The
military command of Lower California was detached
in the middle of 1829 and joined to the comandancia
general of Sonora; 49 and about the same time Colonel
Antonio Garcia was appointed to succeed Echeandia
in the governorship. 50 For reasons that I suppose to
have been connected with Bustamante's accession to
the presidency in January 1830, Garcia did not come
to take possession of his office; and on March 8th
Lieut. -colonel Manuel Victoria was made gefe
politico of Alta California, the gefatura politica of the.
peninsula being now detached as the mando militar
had been before, so that now the two territories were
again distinct. 51 Victoria had been previously for a
time comandante principal of Lower California; he
came up from Loreto by land, arriving at San Diego
perhaps in December 1830; but he did not take pos-
session of his office until the next year. Meanwhile
in these last years Echeandia was busied chiefly with
mission affairs and commercial matters. He had been
48 Padrds had been comandante at Loreto and sub-gefe politico of Lower
California. I find no record showing the date of his appointment as ayudante
inspector; but in Feb. 1829 he seems to have been made sec. of the comandante
general. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., v. 1; and in July 1828 was ordered to
assume the command in Echeandia's place. Id., vi. 9. Apr. 3, 1829, Rafael
Velez was approved as secretary of the comandancia, instead of Padre's, but he
never came. Id., v. 3.
49 June 1, 1829, gov. announces this change. The two territories were
still subject in civil matters to the same gefe politico. Dept. St. Pap., Ben.
Mil., MS., lxix. 2.
50 Feb. 17, 1S29, Moctezuma to Echeandia. Orders him to deliver the
command to Garcia. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., vi. 2. May 1st, Gervasio
Argiicllo writes from Guadalajara that Garcia has been appointed comandante
general. Guerra,Doc, MS., v. 227. June 8th, Moctezuma to Garcia. Ves-
sels are ready to take him to California, and the president desires him to sail
at once. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., v. 11. July 17, 1828, Echeandia had
been ordered to give up the command to Padre's and proceed to Mexico. Id.,
vi. 9. Doubtless the political changes in Mexico had much to do with these
successive and confusing orders. The records of this period are moreover
very incomplete.
51 March 8, 1830, Victoria's appointment. March 11th, Minister Facio to
Echeandia, ordering him to surrender the gefatura of California to Victoria,
and of Lower California to Monterde. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., vi. 0-7.
March (i, 1830, Capts. Juan Zamora, Juan Aguayo, Geronimo Hernandez,
ami Luciano MuS >z; Lieut. Leonardo Diez Barroso, and Alf. Mariano Crecero
have been deauned fco California. Id., vi. 5-6.
RECEPTION AT MONTEREY. 55
more cordially received in the north in 1830 than at
the time of his former visit; and except among the
padres and their adherents, he had gained considerably
in popularity/'
52
52 Gonzalez, Expert encias, MS., 26-7, describes his formal reception at Sta
Barbara by the ayuntamiento. Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 156-7, says his
reception at the capital was enthusiastic, Lieut Estrada making for all the
citizens a speech of reconriliation, and the governor joining most heartily in
the ensuing festivities.
CHAPTER III.
ECHEANDlA AND HERRERA— FINANCE— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
1826-1830.
Hard-times Items — Aid from Mexico — The Revenues— C»misario and
Habilitados — Secret Investigation — Suspension and Resignation —
Estrada, Vallejo, and Jimeno Casarin as Administrators — Re-
volt of 1828— Revolt of 1829 — Causes — Monterey Taken— Joaquin
Solis — Plan of November 15th — Arguello Declines the Command —
Solis Marches South — Echeandia's Preparations — Revolt at Santa
Barbara — Bloodless Battles of Dos Pueblos and Cieneguita — Re-
treat of Solis — Retaking of the Capital — Avila Captures Solis —
Trial — The Spanish Flag — Banishment of Herrera and Twenty
Conspirators— Financial Affairs in 1829-30.
It is not my purpose to present financial statistics
in this chapter. Only fragments survive to be pre-
sented anywhere, and these will receive such slight
attention as they require, in connection with local pre-
sidio annals, commercial topics, and general remarks
on the subject of ways and means for the whole
decade. Here I have to speak of the management,
or mismanagement, of the territorial revenues, of the
insufficiency of those revenues, as administered, to
pay the soldiers or other employees of the govern-
ment, and of the resulting destitution, discontent, and
finally revolt.
There is little or nothing that is new to the reader
to be said of the prevalent destitution in these years,
a destitution which oppressed only the troops. 1 The
Complaints are not very numerous in the archives, since the uselessness
of writing on the subject had been learned by long experience. The follow-
ing minor items on this topic are perhaps worth preservation: 1826, Echean-
dia's complaints about the suspension of officers' pay. Only those officers who
(56)
HAED TIMES— SOURCES OF REVENUE. 57
ranclieros and pobladores were at least as well off as
in earlier Spanish times, the improved market for their
produce afforded by the trading fleet counterbalancing
the heavy duties that were now exacted. Few if
any of these classes seem to have made an effort to
do more than support themselves and families; and
this, save to the incorrigibly lazy, was an easy task.
The lands produced food both for the owners and for
the Indian laborers who did most of the work; while
the natural increase of their herds furnished hides and
tallow more than enough to be bartered with the
agents of-Hartnell or Gale for groceries, implements,
and clothing. So far as the records show, they did
not even deem it worth their, while to complain of
excessive duties and consequent high prices.
For the support of the military establishment and
to defray other expenses, the only resources were the
duties collected on imports and exports — or the taxes
on production, which practically took the place of the
latter — the chief source of revenue, but one liable to
considerable variation; contributions exacted from the
missions as gifts, loans, sales on credit, or special taxes,
given by the padres more and more grudgingly as the
years passed by ; and finally the supplies furnished di-
came with him to Cal. are paid, and there is much discontent among the
others. St. Pap. , Sac. , MS. , xix. 32-4. Complaints heard by Beechey of non-
payment of dues, and of excessive duties which greatly increased prices.
Beechey's Voy., ii. 10. March 30, 1826, petition of soldiers, alleging that
they were getting la radon, nada mas, as in years past, notwithstanding the
promises of the govt. Repeated June 7th. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS.,
lvii. 13. April 30th, no funds to furnish $400 for the celebration of a great
national event. Id., lvii. 14. Hartnell lent the comisaria 264 cattle, which
in 1839 had not been repaid. Dept. St. Pap. , Ben. Com. and Treas., MS. , iv. 59.
1827, Feb. 1st, comisario has no funds to supply blankets; great want of
money and food; impossible to get a loan. Id., i. 79. Feb. 5th, gov. lends
$600 in view of the urgent needs of the soldiers. Dept. Pec., MS., v. 21.
July 5th, complaint that S. Bias company do not get their share of supplies.
Id., v. 58. Nov. 21st, decree of national govt on a loan, part of which is to
go to the relief of California. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., xx. 8. 1828, March
3d, troops naked and in great want. Could get no part of their dues. Dept.
St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxvi. C8. Same date, gov. tells com. gen. that
no supplies have been sent from Mexico for a considerable time! Dept. Pec,
vi. 7. March 10th, eight soldiers at Monterey granted leave of absence to go
and earn their living for 3 months, for want of funds at Monterey. Dept. St.
Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxvi. 24-5.
5S ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
rectly or indirectly by Mexico— that is, the $22,000
sent in 1825, possibly one or two small amounts sent
later, and a few drafts on the national treasury which
in one way or another foreign or resident traders were
induced to accept as security for loans or in payment
for goods supplied. 2 Theoretically, the national treas-
ury should have paid the territorial expenses and re-
ceived the net product of the territorial revenue; but
practically, the territory was left to pay its own ex-
penses, nominally about $130,000 a year, always ex-
cepting the small amounts furnished as before specified,
and a considerable supply of very bad tobacco. To
estimate the actual revenue with any approach to ac-
curacy would probably have been wellnigh impossi-
ble at the time, 3 and is entirely so now. Fully col-
lected and honestly administered, the total revenue
could hardly have amounted to one half the nominal
expenditure; and indications are not wanting that a
considerable portion was lost to the troops through
smuggling operations and the rascality of officials.
Moreover, there were charges of partiality and injus-
tice in the final distribution of the net product, cer-
2 On the $22,000, see chap, i., this vol. At the same time $12,000 was or-
dered paid in favor of California through the comisario general at Arizpe;
but I find no evidence that any part of the sum was ever paid. July 1S2G,
record that $3,000 was sent to Cal. by the Sirena from the sup. govt. Sup.
Govt St. Pap., MS., iii. 6. In Jan. 1829, Enrique Virmond seems to have
accepted drafts from the presidial comandantes to the amount of about $5,000
for goods supplied from the Maria Ester; and again in Dec. he supplied the
same amount in goods and silver coin. Dept. JRec, MS., vi. 1, 153, 1G8, 176.
Virmond had exceptional facilities for getting his claims allowed by Mexican
officials, and he probably lost nothing. Nov. 11, 1828, M. G-. Vallejo author-
ized to borrow $500 payable on sight, or 15 days after sight of draft ! Vallejo,
JJoc, MS., i. 1G0. According to Mexico, Mem. Hacienda, 1830, annex. 33,
the govt of Cal. had borrowed $7, 2G2, of which sum $1,564 had been repaid
down to June 29th. Hartnell also lent the govt $7,100 in 1827; the draft
signed by Ilerrera was not accepted in Mexico, on account of some alleged ir-
]« gularity; and on Nov. 20, 1830, Hartnell petitions the gov. on the subject.
Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxx. 154.
8 Feb. 19, 1830, gov. informs the comisario general that commerce, car-
ried on by a peculiar system, 'authorized by force of circumstances' in Cal.,
3 ielded barely two fifths of the expenses; while mission contributions, by dint
( i ((instant requisitions and annoyances, yielded not more than one fifth of the
deficit. Dept. Rec. , MS., viii. 72. The revenue obtained from vessels is insuffi-
cient for garrison expenses; therefore, the missions advance grain and cattle,
and the nation assumes the debt. Bandini's letter of 1828 in Bandini. Doc,
MS., 8.
SUB-COMISARIO AND HABILITADOS. 59
tain presidios, and certain classes of troops, being fa-
vored or slighted.
During the Spanish rule, and the interregnum that
followed, the provincial finances had been managed —
for the most part honestly, if not always with great
skill, so far as accounts were concerned — by the habil-
itados of the respective companies, one of whom in
the later days had been named administrator, with
very little authority over the others. On the estab-
lishment of the republic, Herrera had been sent, as
we have seen, in 1825, as comisario to take charge of
the territorial finances as a subordinate of the comis-
ario general of the western states Sonora and Sin-
aloa. The instructions to Herrera are not extant;
but it is evident from subsequent communications of
himself and his superiors that he had exclusive con-
trol of the treasury department, and was indepen-
dent of the gefe politico, except that like any other
citizen he was within the civil and criminal jurisdic-
tion of that officer. * The habilitados, the only per-
sons in the territory qualified for the task, served as
Herrera's subordinates for the collection of revenue
at the presidios, so that locally there was no change.
Whether the comisario appointed them voluntarily
or in obedience to his instructions does not appear;
but their duty w T as simply to collect the revenues and
pay them over to Herrera, their duty as company
paymasters in disbursing funds subsequently re-ob-
tained from the comisaria being: a distinct matter.
Naturally the habilitados were jealous from the
first of the authority exercised by their new master,
and were displeased at every innovation on the old
method under Estrada's administration. Moreover,
Herrera was a stranger, and worse yet a Mexican,
being therefore liable to distrust as not properly
appreciative of Californian ways. He was also a
friend and relative of Captain Gonzalez, and involved
to some extent in the quarrel between that officer
and Estrada, which circumstance contributed not a
CO ECHEANDf A AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
little to his unpopularity. A quarrel resulted, the
details of which it is neither desirable nor possible
to follow closely. What were the relations between
Herrera and Echeandia before they left Mexico, I do
not know; but after their arrival in California there
could hardly fail to be jealousy, especially on Eche-
andia's part; and at any rate, the latter soon became
leader in the opposition to the comisario. I append
some items from the correspondence of the times. 4
Herrera was an intelligent and able man; his acts
were approved by his superior officer; and I find in
contemporary documents no proof of irregularities
or unfaithfulness in his official conduct; though it
would perhaps be presumptuous to found on the im-
perfect record an opinion that he acted wisely or
4 March 3, 1826, com. gen. to Herrera. Reproves him for not sending
accounts so that the great necessity of the troops might be known and re-
lieved. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 22. March 25th, Id. to
Id., announces that all claims of Cal. may be presented at the comisaria. Id.,
ii. 17. April 7th, H. to Echeandia. Charges that Lieut. Estudillo for a just rep-
rimand becomes abusive. Id., i. 41-2. May 11th, E. orders that all amounts
due the treasury be paid at the comisario's office. Dept. Bee. , MS. , iv. 37. June
27th, H. to E. Wishes to know why he is not recognized as gefe de hacienda;
measures have been ordered without his consent or knowledge. He wishes
E. to define his own position, so that he, H., may be freed from his burdens and
report to the supreme government. Dept. St. Pap., MS., i. 136. July 11th,
H. to E. Defence of the practice of allowing vessels to touch at way points.
Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., i. 42-7. Sept. 11th, com. gen. to E. Asks
him to order habilitados to send in their accounts to Herrera in two months, or
he will appeal to Mexico. Reprimands him for exceeding his powers, using
funds without Herrera's permission, treating H. as a subordinate and not as the
gefe of all treasury branches, and not obeying the laws. Threatens to withdraw
the comisario altogether if E. does not mend his ways. Accuses him of prevent-
ing the execution of Herrera's decree on the payment of duties, without au-
thority to do so. H. was under no obligation to submit his orders or those
of his superior to the gefe politico. ' Watch also over those friars with their
Spanish ideas. ' The comisario must be supported, not opposed. In the ap-
pointment of a sub-comisario at Loreto, E. had also usurped authority. ' I
can not permit you thus to interfere. The power of appointment rests exclu-
sively with H. as my subordinate. ' H. was not to be blamed for reporting these
things, since he had positive orders to do so. Id., i. 23-34. Oct. 16th, H. to E.
on the details of business, explaining his efforts to get along with an insufficient
revenue. Complains of habilitados for not rendering accounts, and for drawing
drafts on him when they knew he had no money. Protests against paying
one company more than another; and claims that in case of urgent need the
soldiers should be preferred to officials. Id., i. 56-60. Dec. 1st, H. com-
plains that his orders are disregarded, and that Estrada refuses to render ac-
counts. Repeats the complaint a little later, with threats to report to Mex-
ico. Dec. 27th, 30th, orders from Mexico requiring half the revenues to be
remitted to the national treasury! and that regular accounts be sent for pub-
lication in the Gaztta of Guadalajara. Id., i. 72-3, 89-91, 14.
CHARGES AND INVESTIGATIONS. 61
honestly throughout the quarrel, especially in opposi-
tion to the statements of several Californians who
remember the controversy. 5 It is my opinion, how-
ever, that the class of Californians represented by
Alvarado, Osio, and Vallejo look at Herrera's acts
through the colored glasses of political prejudice; and
that among other classes the comisario was by no
means unpopular.
In April 1827 Echeandia ordered a secret investi-
gation of Herrera's administration, to be conducted by
Zamorano. The proceedings were begun at San Diego
the 30th of April, and afterwards continued at Mon-
terey and Los Angeles in May and June. The main
charge was that the comisario had, on his way to
California, invested a portion of the $22,000 of terri-
torial funds intrusted to his care in effects to be sold
for his own account and profit, though it was not
claimed apparently that there was any deficit in his
accounts, or that the money thus improperly used had
not been refunded. 6 Zamorano as fiscal reported the
5 No one has anything to say in Herrera's favor. Alvarado, Hist. Col., MS. ,
ii. 111-17, 132-46, is especially bitter in his criticism, charging H. with
dishonesty, embezzlement, conspiracy, usurpation, insolence, and pretty much
everything that was bad. Osio, Hist. Cal., MS., 122-3, is hardly less severe.
Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 62-3, tells us that H. 'did nothing but conspire
and make trouble.' J. J. Vallejo, Reminis., MS., 91-2, represents H. as
intriguing with the support of the padres to unseat Echeandia and put himself
in power. Duhaut-Cilly, Viaggio, i. 282-6, describes the quarrel without
attaching much blame to Herrera; and it is to be noted that Mrs. Ord, one of
the clearest-headed Californian writers, personally friendly to Echeandia, ex-
presses no opinion on the merits of the parties to this quarrel. Ocurrencias,
MS., 20-1.
6 Herrera, Causa contra el Comisario Sub-Principal de Cal/fornias, Jos6
Maria Herrera, 1827, MS. ; also an abridged record in the archives. Capt.
Guerra testified that of the $22,000 the Sta B. Co. had got only $3,600; knew
not what had become of the rest; had heard that the money was landed at S.
Bias, and only a part reshipped with goods supposed to have been purchased
with that money. Maitorena had heard of the investment of public funds,
and had seen in the possession of Luis Bringas certain bales of goods, which
he judged to be the ones bought by H. In a letter of later date, Maitorena
attempts to show some irregularities in the collection of duties from the Nile,
in 1825. Juan Bandini reserved his formal testimony until the matter should
come before the diputacion; but declared it to be a matter of public notoriety
that H. had misapplied the public funds. Alf. Romualdo Pacheco noticed at
S. Bias that only $6,500 of the $22,000 was reshipped, and was told by J. M.
Padr6s that H. had invested the balance in goods, having admitted as much
to him, Padre's. It was a notorious fact that Bringas had sold the goods at
the presidios, towns, and missions of Cal. Alf. Juan Jos6 Rocha confirmed
62 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
charge well founded; and it must be admitted that
the testimony against the comisario, though for the
most part weak, furnished some grounds for suspicion
— and nothing stronger under the circumstances — that
certain packages of goods had been purchased with
public money. When we consider that these proceed-
ings were conducted in secret, mainly by Herrera's
enemies, that they were never carried further in public,
that Herrera was never called upon for a defence upon
any criminal charge, and that Echeandia was smarting
under the rebukes of the comisario general, it seems
wisest at the least to attach little importance to the
accusations.
The matter was discussed by the diputacion in the
sessions of July, Bandini and the president making
all the speeches. Bandini's deferred revelations proved
to be the reading of a treasury report on the sums of
the statement as to what was seen in S. Bias. Lieut. Estrada testified that
the Morelos brought some 20 packages, including cigars and brandy, more
than were on the manifest; and these goods were opened at Herrera's house,
where and elsewhere they were sold by Bringas. Deponent believed the
goods belonged to H. Luis Mariano Bringas, after much difficulty, was
found and induced to testify at Angeles before the alcalde and Capt. Portilla.
His testimony was clear enough, and to the effect that of the $4,500 in goods
which he had brought to California and sold, $3,000 belonged to his friend
Tejada, a trader of Saltillo, and $1,500 had been committed to him by H. as
belonging to his (H.'s) cousin. Full particulars were given of his dealings.
But by the testimony of Ignacio M. Alvarado it was shown that Bringas,
while refusing to testify on various pretences, had sent a messenger post-haste
to Monterey and had received a message from H. Capt. Portilla's opinion
was, therefore, that Bringas had testified falsely under instructions from PL,
whose accomplice he was. One of the documents exhibited by Bringas, in
support of his testimony, was a draft bearing the name of Wm. A. Gale,
written Galle, and pronounced a forgery by Gale himself, who denied that he
had ever had any transaction with Bringas. Moreover, Rodrigo del Pliego
testified that H. had openly boasted of furnishing Bringas with papers that
would serve his purpose, implying that the signatures were forged by him. Za-
morano's final opinion, rendered to Echeandia at the end of July, was that H.
had invested a part of the public funds for his own account at Topic, since of
the #-22,000 only about $3,500 in coin could be proved to have arrived in Cal. ;
and it was very likely that the bales of goods referred to represented the bal-
ance; though it was hard to prove, because H. had had plenty of time to
replace the deficit in coin. June IGth, Echeandia in a circular orders the ap-
prehension of Bringas, who is to be compelled to testify. Dept. Bee. , MS. , v.
53. April 26th, E. to com. gen., says that H. has not acted properly, and
that proceedings have been instituted to prove his misbehavior. Id., v. 130.
July 10th, H. to gov., with renewed complaints on the disregard of his orders
by .Martinez, Estrada, and Arguello. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Corn, and Treas.,
MS., i. 7G-9.
ACTION OF THE DIPUTACION. 63
money intrusted to Herrera, and his own statement
that he was positive of Herrera's misuse of the funds.
The record of the previous secret investigations seems
also to have been read. Ternas, or trios, of candidates
for contador and treasurer were proposed in due form.
Bandini then advocated the suspension of Herrera;
but Echeandia opposed so radical a measure, arguing
that the comisario would be so closely watched by the
new officials that he could do no harm, and meanwhile
the charges against him could be investigated by the
supreme government. It is not easy to determine
whether the governor's opposition was a mere pre-
tence, or whether, while wishing to humble his rival,
he doubted the expediency of suspending him on so
slight evidence. On the first vote, four members were
for suspension, one against it, and one besides the pres-
ident did not vote. Subsequently another member
was called in, the arguments were repeated, and Ban-
dini obtained a secret vote in favor of suspension. It
is not unlikely that this result had been prearranged,
and that the arguments of Bandini and Echeandia
were made merely for effect. 7
Herrera was not suspended, because the candidates
for treasurer declined to serve, and no suitable person
for the place could be found; but Pablo Gonzalez
was installed as contador from July 23d, and matters
went on much as before, save that Herrera, offended
at the charges of interfering with other officials, now
declined to perform some duties thought to belong to
him. 8 He neglected certain details of gathering sup-
7 Leg. Bee, MS., i. 91-10L For contador the terna was, 1. Pablo Gonzalez,
2. Joaquin Estudillo, 3. Manuel Dominguez. For treasurer, 1. Jos6 Antonio
Carrillo, 2. Jose" Antonio Estudillo, 3. Antonio Maria Osio. In the first vote
Ortega, Bandini, Carrillo, and Buelna voted for suspension; Estrada against,
and Tapia reserved liis vote. Romualdo Pacheco was the suplente called in,
but the hnal vote was secret, no names being given.
8 Appointment of Gonzalez, who spoke English, as contador, July 23d. Leg.
Rec, MS., i. 64, 91; Dept. Rec, MS., v. 71. Aug. 7th, Echeandia to com.
gen. Says he has forwarded to the secretary of the treasury the secret in-
vestigations against H., whom the diputacion does not suspend for want of a
suitable man to take his place. Id., v. 138. Sept. 19th, H. to com. gen.
complaining that the ministro dc hacienda fails to answer his important ques-
tions. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 91.
64 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
plies and serving out rations to prisoners, was sum-
moned before the diputacion on September 19th, denied
the right of that body to question him, but indulged
in a wordy warfare with Echeandia in the legislative
hall. Next day the governor evolved from his inner
consciousness, and caused to be approved by the dipu-
tacion, the theory that the duty of a comisario sub-
principal de hacienda was confined to 'systematizing
the financial administration/ by reporting on needed
reforms, and keeping accounts of net products of rev-
enue. 9 Accordingly he notified Herrera of the result
of his legal studies prompted by the comisario's mis-
deeds, and ordered him to restore to the habilitados
all their former powers, and to confine his own author-
ity to the narrow limits indicated above. Herrera
thereupon, in obedience as he said to previous instruc-
tions from his superior, resigned his position, leaving
the financial administration wholly in the hands of
the gefe politico, and asking for a passport to go to
Mazatlan, which Echeandia refused. Thus the matter
stood during the rest of 1827. 10
9 Leg. Rec, MS., i. 86-90, 101-4. Sessions of Sept. 19th-20th. Echeandia
supported his new theory with an elaborate argument. A new terna for treas-
urer was proposed, consisting of Santiago Arguello, Maitorena, and Ignacio
Martinez ; but military duties prevented their acceptance.
10 Sept. 25, 1827, gov. to H. Dept. Rec, MS., v. 91-2, repeated Sept. 27th.
Sept. 26th, H. to Estrada, announcing his resignation. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i.
110. Sept. 26th, gov. to Estrada, announcing and explaining the change.
The complaint was in the matter of furnishing supplies and rations, and the
theory was that Gov. Arguello had given up to H. at first powers to which
he was not entitled. Id., i. 109. Same date, Echeandia notifies Prefect Sarria
of the change. Arch. Arzob. , MS., v. pt i. 38-9. Echeandia's argument quoted
in Vallejo, Hist. Col., MS., ii. 172-4. E. says in 1829 that H. 'se suspendi6y
tenazmento se nego en el ejercicio de todas sus funciones desde el dia 26 de Sep-
tiembre de 1827, dejandolas al cargo de este gobierno.' Dept. St. Pap., Ben.
Mil., MS., lxx. 19. Sept. 29th, E. to H. Chides him for his refusal to perform
duties belonging to his office, and refuses a passport. Dept. Rec., MS., v. 93.
October, E. asks minister of the treasury that the trial or investigation of him-
self and H. may take place inCal. Id., v. 130-1. Oct. 1st, E. to comandantes
and prefect on his orders to H. Id. , v. 93-4; Dept. St. Pap. , MS. , ii. 41. Oct. 3d,
E. to H. Never told him not to manage the funds entering his office; and if he
persists in resigning the place, the treasury will be injured even more than it
was by his assumption of the habilitados' duties and rights. Dept. Pec. , v. 95.
Oct. 11th, H. to E.. protesting against the orders which detain him in Cal. If
the treasury interests were injured, it was because he was not allowed to go
to report to his superior in order that the latter might put another man in
his place; and the governor, to whom he was in no way responsible, was the
only one to blame. If charged with criminal acts, he was ready for trial; if
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS IN 182S. 65
Nor did 1828 bring any notable change in the sit-
uation. The habilitados attended to the revenues as
of old, Estrada and afterward Vallejo of Monterey
exercising a kind of supervision, until in November
Manuel Jimeno Casarin, a young man brought to
California by his brothers, the friars Jimeno, was
appointed by Echeandia as acting comisario, or admin-
istrator of the revenues, his position being similar to
that held by Estrada before the coming of Herrera; 11
and Juan Bandini was appointed at about the same
time as subordinate comisario at San Diego. Mean-
while Herrera continued his protests against being
kept in California; could obtain neither a trial nor a
passport; but made some efforts to obtain material for
a later prosecution of his adversary. Echeandia was
greatly blamed by both the comisario general and the
minister of the treasury for his course towards his
foe; but he defended himself as well as he could in
writing, and insisted on keeping Herrera in the terri-
tory and holding him responsible for all financial ills,
present and prospective. 12
not, there was no right to detain him. He wished to enjoy the wise laws of
his country where they were respected and obeyed, and not remain where they
were shamefully transgressed, as he was ready to prove. Ho also claimed his
arrears of salary, he having received only $120 in a year, and having to cell
his furniture to keep alive. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 51. Oct. lGth, E. to
comandantes, alcaldes, etc., announcing his action towards H., urging habili-
tados to attend carefully to their duties, and explaining why H. was not allowed
to depart — that is because at a distance it would be hard to prove H. 's frauds or
j ustify his own action or that of the diputacion. Dept. Pec,MS., 101, 103; Dept.
St. Pap., S. Jose, MS., iv. 49-50; Dept. St. Pap., Any., MS., xi. 1. Oct. 28th,
E. to com. gen. Thinks the administration of the revenue by the habilitados
is injurious. With an administrator, vista, and guard at each port, the
revenue might amount to $30,000 or $40,000 annually. Dept. Pec, MS., v.
139. Nov. 27th, E. tells the comandante that the company officers had
never been free from responsibility in the matter of finances. Id., v. 105.
11 Dept. Pec, MS., vi. 13, 133; Leg. Pec, MS., i. 286. Oct. 6th, P. Antonio
Jimeno writes to P. Peyri about getting for his brother the position of col-
lector of customs. Peyri replies that he should obtain a certificate of fitness,
and security for $4,000. Perhaps Jimeno did not take possession until Jan.
1, 1829. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxx. 308.
12 Jan. 11, 1828, gov. to min. of war. Defends himself against charges of
usurpation by the min. of the treasury. Some of the charges had apparently
been printed, for which satisfaction is demanded. Dept. Pec, MS., vi. 18-
19. Feb. 22d, H. asks for a passport to go and render his accounts at Maza-
tlan. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 101. March 1st and April 20th, com. gen. to E.,
blaming him and the diputacion for exceeding their powers, even on the sup-
position that H. was guilty as charged, in which case a report should have
Hist. Cal., Vol. HI. 5
06 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLLS REVOLT.
A kind of revolt occurred in the north in October
1828, with which Herrera's name is connected as
instigator by Alvarado, Osio, and Vallejo, without
the slightest foundation so far as can be known.
There is indeed very little information extant respect-
ing the movement, although I have the statements of
several old Californians on the subject, including two
of the leaders, Jose de Jesus Pico and Pablo Vejar.
It appears that on the 8th of October, a large part of
the cavalry soldiers at Monterey, joined by those of
the escoltas who left their missions, refused to serve
longer unless they were paid, thereupon marching out
of the presidio with their weapons. Touching sub-
sequent events, there is no agreement among the nar-
rators, beyond the fact that Lieutenant Pomualclo
Pacheco persuaded the rebels to return to their duties,
several of the number being put in prison to await
the decision of the supreme government on their
fate. 13 All agree that want of clothing and food was
been sent to his superior officer. H. is also reprimanded on the same date for
failing to report properly on E.'s misdeeds and other matters. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 96-103. June 13th, H. to E. Protests against
what is virtually his arrest, since he is not allowed to leave Monterey for Sta
Barbara and S. Diego to attend to business. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 58.
July 1st, H. required by the pres. of Mexico to form a regular accusation
against E. ; nothing to be kept back. Id., Ben. Com. and IVeas., i. 92-3. Aug.
7th, E. says he did not intend to prevent H. from travelling by land within
the territory. Dept. Pec, MS., vi. 79. Sept. 15th, E. to com. gen. Says
H.'s charge that he and the diputacion deprived him of his office is false. Id.,
vi. 12-13. Nov. 7th, E. orders that H.'s salary be paid punctually. Id., vi.
131. Same date, will not allow him to leave the territory till ordered to do
eo by the sup. govt. /(/., vi. 129. Dec. 4th, 9th, 17th, further correspond-
ence, showing that H. went to S. Diego, apparently to make secret investiga-
tions against his foe, which caused additional complications not very clearly
recorded. Id., vi. 148, 150, 154-6, 158.
13 Oct. 1828, escoltas from S. Luis Obispo to S. Juan Bautista have aban-
doned their posts. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Pre/, y Juzg., MS., i. 6, 8-9. Oct.
13th, Echeandia orders comandante of Monterey to bring the rebels to trial
by court-martial; but if he cannot master them, to offer a pardon. Dc.pt.
bee, MS., vi. 113. Oct. 20th, E. to min. of war. Says the escoltas left
their posts, and with the other troops came with arms in their hands to
demand their pay. Hopes by the aid of the artillery lately arrived to pre-
vent such disorder; but needs officers. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 36-8. Oct.
31st, Id. to Id. Mentions the revolt, and asks that the guilty ones be par-
doned. Dept, Rec, MS., vi. 36. Nov. 7th, comandante of Monterey has
made known to the troops the governor's pleasure at their loyalty in reject-
ing the proposals by some degenerate militares. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 159.
Jan. 1829, fiscal's opinion in case of Francisco Soto for the revolt of Oct.
8th, and other insubordination, then in prison. Thinks the death penalty
DISCONTENT OF THE SOLDIERS. 67
the cause of the rising; and there is no reason to sup-
pose that it had any politically personal significance.
There is also a vasrue allusion to insubordination at
San Francisco about the same time, but we have no
particulars. 14
In 1829 there was a practical cessation of the finan-
cial controversy in its old phases, the situation remain-
ing unchanged, save that Antonio Maria Osio acted
as comisario during part of the year in the place of
Jimeno, and an opportunity was afforded Echeandia
to rid himself of Herrera by sending him away as a
prisoner for trial, on charges somewhat less unfounded
than that of mismanaging the revenues. Discontent
among the soldiers continued, resulting in a revolt
more extensive and complicated than that of 1828,
though not much more serious in its results. Desti-
tution, resulting from non-receipt of pay and rations,
and attributed naturally by the troops to some fault
of the governor, was the leading motive of the sol-
diers; the participants in the last revolt, yet under
should not be inflicted. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxix. 24. Osio, Hist.
Cat., MS., 123-5, says 40 soldiers, not including the older sergeants and cor-
porals, marched 12 leagues to Codornices Mt., and were induced to come
back by Pacheco and the padres, the former offering to intercede for their
pardon. Vallejo, Hist. Cal., ii. 83-5, tells us the cavalry company went to
Sauzal, could not agree among themselves, and when Pacheco put himself at
their head, they instinctively obeyed his order to march back to their quar-
ters, where they were under arrest for many months. Pico, Acontechnientos,
MS., 10, says that 80 men wandered about for a month, when half went back
and were pardoned. The rest, the leaders being Felipe Arceo, Raimundo
and Gabriel de la Torre, Pablo V6jar, Jose - de Jesus Pico, and Francisco Soto,
remained away longer, but at last returned at the request of their friends
and families, and were put in prison. Vdjar, Recuerdos, MS., 8-9, says he and
another man were sent to Estrada to say that they would serve no longer
without pay; and that before they returned to duty Estrada promised par-
don and some relief. Torre, Reminiscencias, MS., 8-9, says that Arces was
leader, and that the rebels went as far as Sta Cruz, S. Juan, and S. Josd.
Avila, Cosas de Cal., MS., 25-7, saw the rebels form in line near her husband's
house to return with Pacheco. She says Vejar was the leader, and that while
in prison all were terrified at threats of being put to death. Amador, Memo-
rial, MS., 86, tells us it was a long time before all returned to duty. He
and Jose" de Jesus Vallejo, Reminis., MS., 15-16, represent the soldiers as
having been in a pitiable state of destitution when they were driven to insub-
ordination. Mention of the affair in Lugo, Vida, MS., 13; Lario*, Couvul-
siones, MS., 8; Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 24.
14 Oct. 20th, gov. to min. of war. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 38-9.
68 ECHEANDlA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
arrest, were rendered reckless by current rumors that
they were to be shot; 15 Herrera and some of the
friars, from motives of personal hostility, were willing
to encourage any movement directed against Eehean-
dia; and finally the records, without clearly implicat-
ing any prominent individual, leave room for a suspi-
cion that most of the officers at Monterey and San
Francisco were at the least not very earnest in their
opposition to the rebels, though lacking confidence in
their success and courage to take risks.
In June two soldiers revealed to Alferez Jose Fer-
nandez del Campo a plot of the troops to rise against
the governor and all those de la otra banda, with a
view to put all the offices in the hands of Californians.
The outbreak at Monterey was to take place June
22d, but the plan was revealed on the 18th. The
leader was Joaquin Solis, a convict ranchero, living
not far from the presidio. Solis was a companion of
Vicente Gomez, El Capador. Like him, he had ren-
dered service in the war of independence, and like
him, had been sentenced to California for brutal
crimes, which, but for his past services, would have
been more severely punished. This revelation strangely
seems to have caused no special sensation. There was
a formal examination of several witnesses, with some
official correspondence. Difficulty was experienced in
inducing any officer to act as fiscal, or prosecutor, and
finally the matter was dropped for reasons not ap-
parent. Stranger still, this affair was ignored in all
the proceedings arising from later troubles. 16
lj June 9, 1829, order from Mexico that the soldiers under arrest for mutiny
be set at liberty, after admonishment as to their duties. Sup. Govt St. Pap.,
MS., v. 12. It does not appear that this order reached Monterey before the
rising. The fact that the prisoners began the movement is stated by Pico,
Acont., MS., 10-13; Larios, Convulsiones, MS., 8-10: Avila, Cosas de CaL,
MS., 25-8.
K ' June 23, 1829, com. of Monterey toEcheandia. Says a conspiracy of the
Californians against the Mexicans had been detected, and his men had been un-
der arms for 3 days, though the conspirators had not dared to break out. Dept.
Rt c, MS., vi. 16. June 25th, Alf. Fernandez reported to the com. the revela-
tions of Mariano Peguero, corporal of artillery, and of private Pedro Guerrero.
Gabriel Espinosa and Raimundo de la Torre were named as concerned in the
plot. The cavalryman, Juan Elizalde, confirmed the statements of Peguero
REVOLTING TROOPS TAKE MONTEREY. 69
During the night of November 12th-13th, the sol-
diers at Monterey rose and took possession of the
presidio. By a previous understanding, doubtless,
though little or nothing was ever brought to light on
the subject, there was no opposition in any of the
barracks; but some of the men, especially of the in-
fantry, seem to have been permitted to remain neutral
by giving up their weapons. The ringleaders were
Mariano Peguero, Andres Leon, Pablo Vejar, and
the two brothers Paimundo and Gabriel de la Torre,
though even of these none would subsequently ad-
mit that he entered altogether willingly into the plot,
or that he contemplated anything more serious than
the sending of a 'representation' to the governor.
Small parties, each including two or more of the men
named, proceeded to the houses of Vallejo, the acting
commandant of the company, Juan Jose Pocha of
the artillery, Sergeant Andres Cervantes, and of the
acting comisario Manuel Jimeno Casarin, all of whom
were roused from their slumbers on one pretext or
another, and were locked up in the calabozo before
dawn. Juan B. Alvarado and Jose Castro seem also
to have been arrested. No resistance beyond verbal
protest was attempted, except that the doors of Va-
llejo and Pocha had to be kicked down by Estevan
Espinosa. 17
and Guerrero. Follows a record of preliminary legal proceedings, leading to
no intelligible result. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxix. 15-19. July 1st.
gov. to com. of Monterey. Orders arrest of Solis, Espinosa, and Torre, and
examination of Elizaklc, Guerrero, and Fernando Curicl. Dept. St. Pap., MS.,
ii. 96-7; Dept. Pec, MS., vi. 187. July 8th, gov. orders artillery comand ante
to redouble his efforts to prevent the threatened revolt. Id., vii. 193. Sept.
22d, Jose T. Castro, alcalde, assures Echeandia of the fealty of S. Jose. St.
Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 7. Sept. 2Sth, Fernandez del Campo to al-
calde. Must watch that no one carries forbidden arms. Vallejo, Doc, MS.,
xxix. 419.
17 The details of the arrests are given at considerable length in testimony
to be referred to later. R. Torre, Vejar, Leon, Dolores Garcia, Espinosa, and
a few artillerymen composed the party that took Vallejo. He was called on
pretext of an important message just arrived, but suspecting something, would
not come out; therefore the door was kicked in after consultation. Peguero,
Vejar, and Espinosa arrested Jimeno. Several witnesses testified that Alva-
rado and Castro were imprisoned. Avila, Cosas de Cal. , MS. , 25-8, was told by
Vtfjar at the time that the object was to make theoflicers eat morizqueta and
iearn how the soldiers had to live. Spencc, Hist. Notes, MS., 3-7, says Solis
70 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
The rebels thus secured Monterey without opposi-
tion, and similar easy success at all other points was
anticipated. There was the usual indulgence in pros-
pective death or liberty as a figure of speech, but
clearly none of the conspirators expected serious ob-
stacles. A leader was needed, none of the conspira-
tors ranking higher than corporal, or feeling compe-
tent to take the command. Raimundo de la Torre
was accordingly despatched with a summons to Joaquin
Solis, who came in from his rancho on the 14th and as-
sumed the position of comandante general of the Cali-
fornian troops. 18 I suppose that all this had been pre-
arranged, although Solis and the rest insisted on their
trial, that the convict general now heard of the rising
for the first time, and he even had the assurance to claim
that he accepted the command to prevent the disor-
ders that would naturally arise from leaving the rab-
ble uncontrolled!
Now that there was a general, a plan or pronuncia-
miento was an absolute necessity. Solis applied for
such a plan — or, as he afterward tried to make it
appear, for a petition or 'representation' to Echeandia
on existing evils — to Jose Maria Herrera. The ex-
took the officers of the presidio by stratagem. Alvarado, Hist. Col., MS., ii.
143-59, says he and Castro were sleeping in the same room with Vallejo, when
10 soldiers came and marched all three to jail, where they spent the night on
the bare ground, half-dressed. Vallejo got a chance to make a speech, but
to no avail. The prisoners feared at first serious results from the reckless
character of the conspirators. Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 86-9G, 110-11; iii.
245, gives a similar narrative to that of Alvarado. Says it was 2 a. m. when
the soldiers came on pretence of giving him the mail-bag. They were shut
up with the lowest criminals, who were however soon released, tie was much
relieved to hear from Jimeno, the last prisoner brought to jail, that the plot
was to overthrow Echeandia, and not, as he had feared, to plunder the town
and flee on one of the vessels in port. Torre, Iieminis., MS., 10-21, says his
brothers Raimundo and Gabriel were in command of the escoltas of S. Mi-
guel and S. Luis respectively, and came with their men and those of S. Anto-
nio and Soledad, arriving on the night of the revolt. Osio, Hist. Cal., MS.,
125-51, tells us that Rocha, Vallejo, and Fernandez del Campo had repeatedly
warned Echeandia of the danger, without his having paid the slightest heed.
Vejar, llecuerdos, MS., 9-35, says Echeandia would certainly have been shot
had he been in Monterey at the time, as the soldiers considered him respon-
Bible tor all their troubles.
18 Nov. 13, 18-29, summons to Solis to take the command, in Dept. St. Pap.,
])<■■:. Mil., MS., lxxii. 45, signed by Peguero, Leon, Gabriel de la Torre, and
Petronilo Rios. See also Id., p. 40, 43, 53, 55.
A PRONUNCIAMIENTO. 71
comisario was in sympathy with any movement against
the governor. We are told by Osio, Vallejo, Alva-
rado, and others that he was the prime mover in the
revolt, Solis being merely a tool in his hands. I
think this view of the case an exaggeration, and that
Herrera, like several others perhaps who were never
directly implicated, was willing to wait, and even aid
so far as he could in safety. However this may have
been, the troops counted on him to a certain extent, 19
and he at the least dictated the plan, which was writ-
ten at his house by Petronilo Bios, and completed in
the evening of November 15th. It was read aloud
to a group of foreigners, including Hartnell, Spence,
Cooper, Stearns, Anderson, McCulloch, and others
who happened to be present, and who more or less
approved the document, 'from motives of courtesy,'
as David Spence afterward testified. It was read to
the soldiers and approved by them the same night.
Many claimed later not to have been pleased with the
paper, since it was a plan of revolution, and not a
petition for redress of grievances; but this was an
afterthought in most cases.
The plan was made to embody the grievances of
Herrera, as well as of the troops, and was directed
against Echeandia as the author of all territorial
evils. 23 The avowed object was to put the territory
19 There are several vague allusions in the testimony to two brazosfuertes,
on whom dependence was placed. One was supposed to be Herrera, and the
other perhaps Capt. Gonzalez, or Lieut. Lohato, or Francisco Pacheco. Solis
claimed to have acted in many things on H.'s advice after he had taken the
command. H. in his testimony said he first knew of the trouble when in the
night of the 12th he heard a noise in Jimeno's room next to his own, and
rushed out sword in hand to defend him. Next day he was offered the com-
isaria, but declined, and advised the rebels to await the arrival of Osio, who
already had the appointment from Echeandia. He again declined the office
when offered by Solis. He w<is asked for advice, and gave it in the interest of
good order. He subsequently agreed to dictate the plan on condition that
the officers should be set at liberty, and with a view to secure respect for the
authorities, to prevent outrages on persons and property; in fact, to control
for the good of the territory so far as possible a revolution which he was pow-
erless to prevent. Dept. St. Pap., MS., lxxii. 71-4. It is fair to state that
this defence was at least plausible, and that there is really no evidence of any
weight against its accuracy, except the statements of persons liable to be in-
fluenced by prejudice.
20 Soils, Manifesto al Publico, 6 sea Plande Revolution, 1S20, MS. It was
signed by Solis, I'eguero, Leon, Rios, and Gabriel de la Torre. In substance,
72 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
in the bands of a temporary governor appointed by
the diputacion. There was no need of a such a revo-
lution, or at least no reason to expect relief from such
measures ; the charges against Echeandia were grossly
exaggerated, since he was merely a weak man placed
in circumstances where a strong man could have done
but little; but the prevalent destitution among the
troops was real, and was perhaps a sufficient motive
the document was as follows: The sup. govt, which is ever anxious
for our good, and to which we are ever obedient, sent a governor who has
failed to comply with his instructions; has scandalously abused his au-
thority; has devoted himself to his own interests and comforts and those of a
few men about him; and has paid no attention to the complaints of hungry
and naked soldiers. The laws call for a diputacion chosen by the people; but
the gefe fails to either convoke that body or to explain his reasons for not
doing so, and consequently agriculture, commerce, education, and other vital
interests are grossly neglected. Two years ago the gov. suspended the comisa-
rio of the revenues for reasons not known, which has resulted in the most
scandalous mismanagement of the public funds. The administration of jus-
tice and military discipline are in a state of detestable abandonment; im-
morality and crime are rampant; and all results directly from the ruler's neg-
lect and lack of energy. Therefore, having endured all of misery and neglect
that is humanly possible, having resorted in vain to every other expedient,
the troops have resolved to use force, and to support the following plan: 1.
The diputacion shall meet in due form with all its members. 2. When it has
assembled Echeandia shall resign all his powers to the dip., which shall
appoint a person worthy of confidence to serve until the arrival of a new
gefe sent by the sup. govt, who will be immediately recognized. 3. Bo':h
this ayuntamicnto (of Monterey) and those of other places will name proper
persons to manage the revenues provisionally in accordance with the laws. 4.
The troops will remain under their old officers, if the latter agree to this plan;
otherwise they will choose a sergeant or corporal as comandante, who shall
acknowledge the authority of the gefe appointed by the diputacion. 5. Com-
mandants of troops will apply for pay and supplies to the respective adminis-
trators of revenue appointed as above, and never to missions or private
persons. G. Only alcaldes may apply to missions for supplies, giv-
ing proper receipts, and delivering the product to the administrators.
7. In very urgent cases the ayuntamiento and admhiistrator may require a
moderate loan from private persons, the amount being proportioned to their
means. 8. Persons and property to be fully protected, especially in the case
of foreigners belonging to a friendly nation. (Herrera added to this article a
note in his own handwriting which extended the assurance of protection to
the Spaniards already living in the territory — that is, leaving all further ac-
tion against them for the sup. govt and the new governor to dispose of.) 9.
An eloquent peroration, in which the pronunciados declare that they will never
lay down their arms until their object is accomplished; that no violence
will l)c used beyond what is necessary in defence of their rights; that
there will be no persecution of opponents; that anxiety may be banished
from the minds of all, citizens or foreigners; that the object was to reestab-
lish and not to overthrow the government; that 'the military apparatus which
has caused alarm is only the effort of free men against tyranny, and the
use of this last resource made everywhere to overthrow tyranny by soldiers
overwhelmed by misery, weakened by hunger, and fully awakened by the
painful spectacle daily presented to their eyes of a dear wife and tender
children, naked, and on the point of becoming victims to indigence.'
REBEL ORGANIZATION. 73
for mutiny. It was natural enough that all existing
evils should be popularly attributed to the ruler, and
could the soldiers have induced some popular and in-
telligent officer to take the command, the movement
would have been successful so far as the overthrow of
Echeandia was concerned.
Soon after his arrival at Monterey, Solis transferred
the imprisoned officers from the calabozo to the ware-
house. Meanwhile Raimundo de la Torre was sent to
San Juan, where he lay in wait for and captured Fer-
nandez del Campo, an officer who at the time of the
revolt was absent on an Indian expedition. His men
joined the rebels, and the leader was brought to the
presidio under arrest. Whether he also was locked
up with the rest does not appear; but in a few weeks
all the prisoners were released at the intercession of
foreigners, and on the advice of Herrera, much against
the wishes of some of the soldiers. Vallejo and Rocha
were however sent south in the Brookline. Stephen
Anderson carried copies of the plan to Santa Barbara
by water, and Meliton Soto, a citizen, was sent south
with letters calculated to advance the rebel cause,
while Raimundo de la Torre read the plan to the sol-
diers of every escolta from Soledad to San Luis Obispo.
The ayuntamiento of Monterey, headed by Tiburcio
Castro, the alcalde, accepted the plan, proclaimed it to
the assembled citizens, and urged its acceptance by
other towns. 21 Castro turned over the municipal
funds, and replenished the rebel treasury by imposing
a tax or loan of a few thousand dollars on the traders,
chiefly foreigners. In accordance with the plan, an
administrator of revenues was chosen, the position
being given to Antonio Maria Osio, who accepted it. 22
When all had been arranged at the capital, General
21 Nov. 16, 1829, Alcalde Castro to Solis, in Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., v.
359-60.
"Nov. 16th, Tiburcio Castro's statement. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., v. 358.
In his Historia de California, MS., 145, Don Antonio Maria naturally calls at-
tention to the fact that he had been previously appointed by Echeandia.
ECHEANDIA AND HERREHA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
Solis turned his attention to the north, leaving Fran-
cisco Pacheco in command at Monterey. 23
Of the march northward and return we have few
details; hut there had been a previous understanding
with the garrison, and neither at San Francisco nor
at any point on the way did Solis encounter opposition.
The northern tour consumed about a month, to De-
cember 20th. The ayuntamiento of San Jose accepted
the plan as the best means of securing peace and or-
der; or at least so I interpret a letter of Alcalde Ar-
chuleta, which that dignitary perhaps intended to be
va^ue and unintelligible. At San Juan and Santa
Clara Solis received supplies and money to the amount
of a few hundred dollars; but Padre Duran at Mission
San Jose, not in the comandante's route, declined to
contribute, on the ground that he had no official knowl-
23 Nov. 21st, Pacheco to Solis. Says he is not capable of undertaking the
command, having neither talent nor disposition for it; but he was willing to
serve his country in any possible way. The following items are from the vari-
ous statements made from memory: Pablo Vejar, Recuerdos, MS., 9-17, says
he had for a week the key of the comisaria, where there was a large box of
silver coin, which fact he did not reveal, fearing the men would seize the
money and give color to a charge that they had rebelled for plunder. He
claims to have been a leader with Torre at first. Osio, Hist. Gal., MS., 143-6,
tells us that Castro was forced to lend $1,000 of the municipal funds, and that
he, Osio, distributed over $3,000 in effects to the troops. He arrived the
same day as Solis, and helped to secure the release of the prisoners. Estevan
de la Torre, Reminis.. MS., 12-14, gives some details of the capture by his
brother of Fernandez del Campoat S. Juan. Vail e jo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 86-90,
attributes his release to the efforts of the foreigners headed by David Spence.
He says Sergt Cervantes was also sent south in the BrooUine. Jose de Jesus
Pico, Acont., MS., 10-13, says he was sent to intercept the mail at Soledad
and to bring away the guard, succeeding in both undertakings. Gonzalez,
Revoluciones, MS., 1-3, gives a brief account of the whole affair. Robinson,
Life in Cal., 69-70, says that Solis seized about $3,000 in the comisaria, and
levied a contribution on the inhabitants. James O. Pattie's version of the
Solis revolt is perhaps worth presenting apart. That part relating to this first
phase of the affair at Monterey is as follows: In January 1830 (the date is
wrong) my acquaintances informed me on landing 'that there was a revolu-
tion in the country, a part of the inhabitants having revolted against the con-
stituted authorities. The revolted party seemed at present likely to gain the
ascendency. They had promised the English and Americans the same priv-
ileges and liberty in regard to trade on the coast that belonged to the native
citizens, upon the condition that these people aided them in their attempt to
gain their freedom by imparting advice and funds. I readily appropriated a
part of my little store to their use, and I would fain have accompanied them
in hopes to have one shot at the general with my rifle. But my countrymen
said it was enough to give counsel and funds at first, and it would be best to
see how they managed their own affairs before we committed ourselves by
taking an active part in them.' Pattie's Nar. } 222.
AT SAN FRANCISCO. 75
edge of any change in the government. He was per-
haps the only man in the north who ventured to ques-
tion the authority of Solis. 24 At San Francisco Solis
and his army were received with an artillery salute;
the whole garrison promptly joined the rebel cause ;
Jose Sanchez was made comanclante instead of Mar-
tinez; and that is practically all that is known on the
subject. 25
At San Francisco Solis tried to induce Luis Ar-
giiello to take the chief command of the rebel forces.
There is no documentary evidence of this fact, but it
is stated by many of the Californians. The effort was
natural; and Jose Fernandez says that the offer was
made in his presence, Solis urging Argiiello's accept-
ance, and promising to retire himself, so that Don
Luis might not have to associate with a convict. But
21 Nov. 22d, Solis announces that he is near S. Juan, and his men need
clothing. Dept. St. Pap., Bm., MS., v. 369. Nov. 25th, Alcalde Archuleta
seems to accept the plan. Id., v. 357-8. Amounts of money obtained, $140
at S. Juan; $100 at Sta Clara; and $200 at S. Jose. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil,
MS., lxxii. 46. Nov. 26th, Solis, at Sta Clara, to ayunt. of S. Jose. Must
have $100 from municipal fund or nearest mission in order to resume his march.
S. Jose, Arch., MS., vi. 14. Nov. 30th, Id. told, from S. F., again demands
money to supply the troops. Id., vi. 15. Dec. 1st, P. Duran declines to give
$200 for a comandante general interino of whose authority he knows nothing.
Id. , vi. 17. Dec. 4th, 6th, Solis, at S. Francisco, to the ayunt. , arguing the case
as against P. Duran. The beauties of the plan and the duties of all, including
friars, under it are earnestly set forth. Id., vi. 12, 11. Dec. 6th, Solis, back
at Sta Clara, gives receipt for $100 of the tithes of S. JosC, and $200 of Sta
Clara. Id., ii. 49. Dec. 11th, Solis, at La Laguna, with complaint against the
alcalde of S. Jose" for nothing in particular. Id. , i. 35.
25 Feb. 19, 1830, Martinez writes to Echeandia, that on Nov. 15, 1829,
Solis was about to attack S. Francisco and he prepared to resist him, but found
the troops so demoralized and so disposed to join Solis that he was obliged, not
to accept the plan, but to remain neutral and await results. Nov. 30th, he
was ordered to deliver the military command to Jose" Sanchez and the habili-
tacion to Francisco Sanchez, and also to remain in his house as a prisoner.
Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 129. It would seem that on the final, approach of
Solis, Martinez had some idea of resistance, for Nov. 19th he wrote to S. Jose,
a3king for a reenforcement of 10 vecinos. S. Jose, Arch., MS., i. 33. In Feb.
and March 1830 Corporal Joaquin Pifia, who had been in command of the ar-
tillery in the past Nov., was accused of insolence to Martinez on Nov. 28th,
when he came by order of Solis, then at the mission, to demand ammunition
for a salute. Pifia denied the insolence, but in turn accused Martinez of hav-
ing approved the plan when it was first read, Nov. 2lst or 22d, and of having
sent to Solis a written surrender of the presidio, much to the disgust of Pina,
but with the approval of Francisco deHaro. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS.,
lxxi. 21-8. All of the Californian writers mention the expedition toS. Fran-
cisco, but none give details. Osio, however, says that Solis met with no op-
position from Martinez.
76 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
Argiiello, while admitting that he would rejoice at
the overthrow of Echeandia, had no disposition to
head a revolution, and persisted in his refusal. A part
of the San Francisco garrison was incorporated in the
army of Solis, but most of the men deserted at San
Jose on the march to Monterey.
On his return Solis received despatches warning him
to make haste or Santa Barbara would be lost to the
cause. Accordingly after a short sta}^ at the capital,
he beoran his march southward with over one hundred
men, Gabriel de la Torre commanding the cavalry and
Lazaro Pifia the artillery. Beyond the facts that the
army was at San Miguel December 28th, got plenty of
supplies at each mission, and was in such good spirits
at Santa Ines that the men refused to accept the gov-
ernor's indulto which met them at that point, we have
practically no details respecting the march. Thus far
all went well; but the leader had no ability, nor control
over his men; the army had no elements of coherence,
and would fall apart of its own weight at the slightest
obstacle; yet if success should take the form of a hole,
the fragments might fall into it. 26
Let us now turn to the south. Echeandia heard
of the Solis revolt November 25th, or a day or two
earlier. On that date he revealed it to the officers and
people in a circular, stating that he had convoked a
council of seven officers, who were asked for a frank
opinion whether his rule was satisfactory, and what
changes if any could be advantageously made in the
administration. The response was unanimous that
he was a good governor, though Juan Malarin was
named as the best man for the revenue department.
26 The march south, organization of the army, trifling details. Dept. St.
Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxxii. 41, 45-6, 76-7, and scattering. Jan. 15, 1830,
Alcalde Soberanes writes from Monterey that he has notice of Solis passing
Purisima on Jan. 10th, and that Pacheco is awaiting him at La Cieneguita
with 200 men. S. Jost, Arch., MS., i. 37. Osio, Hist. Cal, MS., 147, men-
tions that at Monterey Solis showed an inclination to give up the command;
that his old companion Antonio Avila threatened to oppose him if he con-
tinued to be the tool of Herrera; and that a sergeant of artillery went south
in his army with the express purpose of betraying him (Lazaro Pifia?), as he
did.
REVOLT IN THE SOUTH. 77
Consequently he declares that the adherents of Solis,
if they do not lay down their arms and leave the au-
thorities free, shall be deemed traitors and accom-
plices of the Spanish invaders at Vera Cruz. 27 Two
days later Echeandia reported the matter to the min-
ister of war, announcing that he would start north in
a few days to retake the capital. He declared his
belief that Herrera was at the bottom of the revolt,
hoping to gratify personal hatred, to avoid the ren-
dering of accounts and exposure of his frauds, and
either to escape by some vessel, or more likely to
declare for Spain or North American adventurers.
Echeandia does not fail to make the affair a text for
discourse on the difficulties of his position, and the
urgent need of aid from Mexico. 28 He left San Dies^o
on December 1st and reached Santa Barbara the 15th,
after having made arrangements on the way for re-
enforcements to come from Los Angeles, and for a
meeting of the diputacion, as elsewhere related.
At San Diego the rebellion obtained no foothold; 29
but at Santa Barbara in the early days of December,
before Echeandia's arrival, the garrison rose much as
at Monterey, and held the presidio for nearly two
days. The outbreak seems to have taken place just
after the arrival of Meliton Soto with despatches from
the north on the 2d. The coming of such a messenger
had been expected, and a rising had been planned
since the beofinnin^ of November. It was now settled
27 Nov. 25, 1829, Echeandia's circular. Dcpt. Bee, MS., vii. 257.
28 Nov. 27,- 1829, E. to min. of war. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 53-5. He is
hard pressed by numerous duties, the difficulty of maintaining harmony with
disaffected Spanish friars, the fear of a neophyte uprising, the total want of
funds, the difficulties of communication, etc. He wants officers, troops,
priests, money, and above all, just now 50 men from Sonora to establish com-
munication by land.
29 Nov. 26, 1829, Echeandia orders the comandante to summon the militia
in case of need to serve against Solis. Dcpt. liec, MS., vii. 258. Dec. 30th,
Argiiello assures E. that all at San Diego are opposed to the plan and deter-
mined to support the govt. Dcpt. St. Pap., MS., ii. 92. Sergt Jose" Maria
Medrano was accused by P. Menendezof saying that he had expected the out-
break since July, and that had he been at Monterey he would have favored
the plan; but after investigation the padre's testimony was doubted, and
Medrano acquitted as a faithful soldier.
78 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
that the discharge of a musket at midnight of the 3d,
eve of Santa Barbara, should be the signal; but an
accidental discharge brought on the outbreak prema-
turely at 11 a. M. Romualdo Pacheco, acting com-
andante, and Podrigo del Pliego were seized and
placed under arrest in Pacheco's house, guarded by a
corporal and eight soldiers. Sergeant Damaso Rod-
riguez was perhaps the leader of the rebels, or per-
haps, as he afterward claimed, only pretended to be so
to preserve order. No violence was done to persons
or property. A distribution of warehouse effects was
proposed, but was postponed until the soldiers of the
mission guards should come to claim their share. The
quelling of this revolt was a simple matter. The offi-
cers were released by Podriguez and a few others, on
the 4th, against the wishes of many. Pacheco easily
won over a few soldiers, marched to the barracks next
day, and advised the troops to return to their alle-
giance and duty.' They were given until 9 p. m. to
think of the matter, and they deemed it best to sur-
render, after six of the number, presumably the lead-
ers, whom only Pacheco had threatened with arrest,
had been given time to run away with Meliton Soto
for the north. 33
Echeandia put Santa Barbara in the best possible
state for defence. He obtained reinforcements of men,
30 The best account is given in the testimony of the artilleryman Maximo
Guerra. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxii. 65-7. He names as impli-
cated in the revolt and in the previous plans: Damaso Rodriguez, Antonio
Guevara, Vicente Rico, Joaquin Cota, Martinez, and himself, who were the
6 who ran away; also Jose" Maria Perez. Luciano Felix, and Ex-alcalde Fer-
nando Tico, who spoke of Anastasio Carrillo as the prospective comandante.
Soto in his testimony, Id., 62-3, claimed to have had nothing further to do
with the plot than, having business in the south, to carry letters for Solis,
receiving $50 for the service. He was back at Monterey before Solis started
for Sta Barbara. Gonzalez, Expcrkncias, MS., 26-9, who was alcalde of Sta
Barbara at the time, gives a version agreeing with that of Guerra, so far as it
goes. Dec. 8th, Echeandia at S. Gabriel wrote about the revolt, stating that
Rodriguez was said to have ordy pretended to accept the command, that Pa-
checo had regained control by the aid of citizens, and that he was in pursuit
of wounded (?) mutineers. Dept. Rec, MS., vii. 259. Slight mention in St.
Pap., Sac., MS., x. 56. Mrs Orel, Ocurrencias, MS., 28-32, tells us that all
the artillery revolted except Corporal Basualdo, who took refuge in the com-
andante'^ house.
CAMPAIGN OF SANTA BARBARA. 79
animals, and supplies from the pueblo and missions, 31
stationed Pacheco with about ninety soldiers at Ciene-
guita, two or three miles from the mission, and awaited
the approach of the rebel forces. The 7th of Jan-
uary, 1830, he issued a proclamation, in which he called
upon the Monterey insurgents to surrender on condi-
tion of full pardon and liberty, except to the leaders,
who would be simply imprisoned until their pardon
could be obtained from Mexico. He believed the re-
volt to be due to the selfish aims and the crimes of
Herrera, who had deceived the troops; and he warned
them that in opposing him they were really in rebel-
lion against the republic, a state of things that could
lead only to blood and ruin. 32 Next day he received
a communication from Solis, dated at Santa Ines or
El Refugio the 7th, in which he was called upon to
give up the command in accordance with the plan.
He answered it the same day with a refusal. He or-
dered the rebels to present themselves unarmed for
surrender, and renewed the argument against Herrera,
claiming that the troops had received two thirds of
their pay, and that there had been no complaint to
him. 33
None of the Solis men accepted the first offer of
pardon received at or near Santa Ines. No obstacles
had }^et been encountered, and this revolt was so
planned as to overcome everything else. It was yet
hoped that the Santa Barbara garrison might join the
movement, and the rebel army marched bravely on to
Dos Pueblos, even coming in sight of the foe on the
13th. Pacheco and his men immediately executed a
31 Thirty-one citizens went from Angeles. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS.,
lxxiii. 60-1. Dec. 20th, Echeandia directs padres of Sta InCs and Purisima
to send to Sta Barbara all people capable of bearing arms; also all spare ani-
mals and supplies to keep them from the hands of the rebels. Dept. Bee, MS.,
vii. 26G. Jan. 5, 1830, E. orders alcalde of Angeles to send armed and mounted
citizens. Id., viii. 2. Pacheco's advance guard consisted of 30 of the Maza-
tlan company, 8 artillerymen, 30 of the regular presidial company under Alf.
Pliego, 20 of the S. Diego company under Alf. Ramirez, aud about 100 neo-
phytes with bows and arrows. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 50.
32 Jan. 7, 1830, proclamation. Dept. Bee. , MS. , viii. 4.
13 Id., viii. 4-7.
80 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
change of base to prevent being cut off — that is, they
retreated from Cieneguita as fast as their legs would
carry them, and took refuge in the presidio. 34 Solis
seems to have come somewhat nearer Santa Barbara,
but we know little in detail respecting what occurred
for three days. Echeandia wrote to the minister of
war : " On the 1 3th the rebels came in sight of the divi-
sioncita of government troops, and from that time
by their movements and frivolous correspondence en-
deavored to gain a victory; but knowing the useless-
ness of their resources and the danger of being cut off
on their retreat, they fled precipitately at dusk on the
15th in different directions, spiking their cannon, and
losing twenty-six men who have accepted the indulto."**
The last act of Solis before running away was to an-
nounce that his men were ready for a fight, and would
never surrender until they got their pay. 36 The rebel
chieftain described the events at Santa Barbara thus :
" Having taken a position between the presidio and
mission, I found it impossible to enter either one
or the other, the first because it was fortified, the
second because of the walls pierced with loop-holes for
musket-fire, and of all the people within, so that I
knew we were going to lose, and this was the motive
for not exposing the troops by entering. wrote
me that the general had ordered Portilla to march
with 150 men to surprise us, and seeing myself with-
out means of defence for want of munitions, I deter-
mined to spike the cannon, and retire with my army
to fortify myself in Monterey — lo que verifique al mo-
34 The retreat is definitely stated only by Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 20-39;
Gonzalez, Experiencias, MS., 27-9; and Pico, Acont., MS., 10-13; but all are
good authorities.
35 Jan. 26, 1830, Echeandia to min. of war. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x.
58. ^ He says the pursuit of the fugitives had to be suspended temporarily at
Purisima. A list of 28 soldiers, who at this time surrendered themselves, is
given in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. MIL, MS., lxxvi. 23. Jan. 16th, E. announces the
surrender of the 26th and his hopes of final success. Some additional corre-
spondence of minor importance, from Jan. 8th to 18th. Dept. Bee, MS., viii.
10. Jan. 13th, Pacheco tells E. that he has gained an advantage over the foe.
Id., viii. 85.
36 Jan. 15th, Solis from 'Campo National ' to E. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS.,
ii. 4. He was willing, however, to have a conference.
BATTLES OF CIENEGUITA AND DOS PUEBLOS. 81
mento" m Dr Anderson wrote to Captain Cooper:
" You would have laughed had you been here when the
gentlemen from your quarter made their appearance.
All the people moved into the presidio, except thirty
women, who went basf and baofsrasre on board the
Flinched. The two parties were in sight of each other
for nearly two days, and exchanged shots, but at such
a distance that there was no chance of my assistance
being needed. About thirty have passed over to this
side. The general appears to be perplexed what to do
with them. He seems as much frightened as ever." 33
All my original witnesses state that cannon were fired,
but give no particulars save the important one that
nobody was hurt. Several represent the army of
Solis to have fled at the first discharge of Pacheco's
guns. At any rate, the rebel force fled, pursued at
not very close quarters, scattering as they advanced
northward, and wholly disbanded before they reached
the capital, where singly and in groups they soon
took advantage of the renewed offers of pardon. The
campaign of the south, and the battles of Santa Bar-
bara, Cieneguita, and Dos Pueblos — the first in which
Californians were pitted against Californians — were
over.
On the 18th Echeandia summoned the soldiers of
the north, that is, those who had surrendered, before
himself, Carrillo, and Zamorano. Each one was inter-
rogated about the charges made in the plan. Each
declared that there were no grounds whatever for
37 Jan. 20th, Solis, at S. Miguel, to Jose" Sanchez. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii.
118. Solis at this time claimed to have over 100 men left, and to be confident
of success. He had only 40 men when he reached Soledad. Id., Ben. M'if.,
lxxii. 40. Jan. 15th, 16th, 18th, 28th, E. to Pacheco. Instructions about
the pursuit of the rebels, and the retaking of Monterey. Dept. JRec, MS., viii.
85-90.
38 Jan. 24th, Dr Anderson to Cooper. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxx. 7. The af-
fair as reported at Monterey and reported by Pattie, Narr., 225, was as fol-
lows: 'A continual tiring had been kept up on both sides during the three
days, at the expiration of which Gen. Solis, having expended his ammunition
and consumed his provisions, was compelled to withdraw, having sustained
no loss, except that of one horse, from a sustained action of three days !
The cannon-balls discharged from the fort upon the enemy had so little force
that persons arrested them in their course without injury.'
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 6
82 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
complaint; whereupon the governor showed docu-
ments to prove that in 1829, one month with another,
the soldiers had received two thirds of their full pay. 39
On the 24th the Broohline arrived at San Diego with
Vallejo and Rocha, the Monterey prisoners, and the
same day or the next there came the news that the
capital had been retaken. Pacheco was already on
his way north to assume the command at Monterey. 40
On the 26th, Echeandia reported all he had done to
the supreme government, and did not fail to utilize
the occasion by expatiating on California's great dan-
gers and needs. 41
The recapture of Monterey was effected January
20th, largely by the aid of the foreign residents. It
was feared that Solis and his men, defeated at Santa
Barbara, would devote their efforts to plunder, and
it was deemed prudent to act before their return.
There was no more difficulty in bringing about this
movement in favor of Echeandia than in effecting the
original revolt against him; yet David Spence in-
dulged in a little Mexicanism when he wrote of the
affair that "with the firm resolution of death or vic-
tory, like bold British tars, we stood it out for twelve
days and nights." 42 Malar in, Munras, Alvarado, and
Jose de Jesus Vallejo were most prominent among
those who aided the foreigners; and the citizens of
San Jose seem to have sent a party to assist in the
reestablishment of the regular government. 43 Fran-
39 Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 120-1.
40 Arrival of Vallejo and Rocha. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cust.-H., MS., iii.
58. It is erroneously stated by some that these prisoners first carried the
news of the revolt to the south. Jan. 28th, Echeandia to Francisco Pacheco,
in reply to the latter's announcement that order has been restored at Mon-
terey. Dept. Pec, MS., viii. 12.
4-1 Jan. 26th, E. to rain, of war. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 56-8.
42 Feb. 4, 1830, Spence to Hartnell. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxx. 19.
43 Meliton Soto in his testimony stated that Cooper's house was the head-
quarters, whence he went with Alvarado, Santiago Moreno, Alcalde Sober-
anes, and several citizens and foreigners to take possession of the artillery
barracks at 7 or 8 p. M. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxii. 64. Galindo,
Apuntes, MS., 8-13, tells us that the alcalde of S. Jose" sent 45 men, who
arrived at midnight and surprised the garrison. Pattie's account of events
at Monterey, from the time that Solis marched for the south — absurdly in-
accurate in many respects — is as follows in substance: Solis marched on
END OF THE REVOLT. 83
cisco Pacheco was apparently still left in command,
and Solis' men as they came straggling in were par-
doned and incorporated in the garrison. Eight or
ten of the ringleaders failed to present themselves,
and patrol parties were sent out to find them. Solis
himself, concealed near his rancho, was taken by a
company of thirty men under Antonio Avila. This
man was a convict companion of Solis and Gomez,
and he undertook the capture on a promise from
Spence and Malarin to obtain from him a passport
for Mexico. Neither Echeandia nor his successors
could grant the pass, and Avila had to stay in Cali-
fornia. 44 Just after the capture of Solis, early in
February, Komualdo Pacheco arrived with a force
March 28th with 200 men. Echeandia had no knowledge of the revolt. The
insurgents were so elated at their victory at S. F. that they were sure of suc-
cess, and decided to expel all Americans and Englishmen. Capt. Cooper's
father-in-law, Ignacio Vallejo, reported this to the foreigners, and at a con-
sultation it was decided to send to Echeandia notice of the impending
attack on him at Sta Barbara, which was done successfully by means of a
letter forwarded by a trusty runner. April 12th news came of the battle
and retreat. ' The name and fame of Gen. Solis was exalted to the skies.'
' The climax of his excellence was his having retreated without the loss of a
man.' Capt. Cooper rolled out a barrel of rum, and when the admirers of
Solis were sufficiently drunk, they were locked up, 50 in number, and the
rest of the inhabitants took sides against Solis. ' Huzza for Gen. Echedio
and the Americans! was the prevailing cry.' There were 39 foreigners who
signed the rolls, and Capt. Cooper was chosen commander. They spiked the
cannon of the castle, except 4 which they carried to the presidio; broke open
the magazine for powder and ball; and stationed sentinels for miles along the
road. The Spanish people were all locked up at night to prevent possible
communication with the approaching general. In a few days Solis drew
near; the Americans waited at their guns with lighted matches until the
army was at the very gates, and then ordered a surrender. The soldiers
obeyed, but Solis with 6 officers fled. Six Americans, of whom Pattie was
orderly sergeant and commander, armed with rifles, were at once sent in pur-
suit to bring back the fugitives dead or alive. Minute details are given.
Several shots were exchanged; one American was wounded, and a Mexican
killed, with 4 bullets through his body; but the rest surrendered and were
brought back to Monterey, where the American flag floated until Echeandia
arrived! Puttie's Narr., 225-9.
44 Spence, Osio, Vallejo (M. G. and J. J.), Alvarado, and others mention
the promise to Avila; but most of them state that the promise was kept,
Echeandia granting the pass and $500 in money. Fernandez even speaks
of Avila as subsequently becoming a brigadier in Mexico. I have before me
Avila's petition to Gov. Figueroa in 1833, narrating the Solis capture.
Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxxv. 13. Botello, Anales, MS., 53, men-
tions Avila as being at S. Buenaventura in 1838. For some reason unknown
to me, the Californians are disposed to regard Avila very favorably, represent-
ing him as sent to Cal. for political offences merely; but in the records he
stands as 'a vicious man of very bad conduct, who took part in various mur-
ders and assaults on travellers.' He was sentenced on Aug. 24, 1824, and
S4 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
from the south, and took the command. Herrera
was now put under arrest in his own house.
Now followed the formal investigation and trial of
the imprisoned leaders. It was carried on at Mon-
terey and Santa Barbara, by Zamorano, Pacheco, Lo-
bato, and Pliego, under instructions from Echeandia,
and extended from January to June. The testimony 45
I have utilized in the preceding narrative, and it re-
quires no further notice except in a single point. The
evidence respecting the revolt was clear enough; but
nearly all the troops were implicated; few men of any
class had shown real opposition to the movement in
the north; a rising of soldiers with the object of get-
ting their pay was not a very serious offence from a
military point of view; and pretty nearly everybody
had been included in the various indultos offered. In
fact, the criminal case was hardly strong enough to
suit Echeandia's purposes respecting Herrera, the only
one of the accused for whose fate he cared particu-
larly. A more serious charge was needed, and grounds
for it were easily found. After their defeat at Santa
Barbara, Solis and one or two of his men, wishing to
gain the support of the padres, like drowning men
clutching at straws, talked about raising the Spanish
flag. It was easy to prove these ravings of the sol-
diers, and the foolish remarks of Padre Luis Martinez
at San Luis Obispo. Particular attention was given
to this phase of the matter in the investigation. 46 A
revolt in favor of Spain would sound very differently
in Mexico from a rising of hungry soldiers against
came on the Morelos in July 1825. Prov. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., li. 2;
Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., Mi. 3.
ta Soils, Proceso instruido contra Joaquin Solis y otros Revolution arios de
1820, MS. These documents do not contain the final sentence under which
the prisoners were sent away.
|,J Pp. 78-105 of the Proceso noticed in the last note are entitled 'A utos
que aclaran que el objeto dela faction de Solis era de pronunciarse en favor del
(, tbu mo EspafloV Meliton Soto, Raimundo de la Torre, and Maximo Guerra
rid to have spoken in favor of a grito for Spain; and a letter of Solis,
• Ian. 17th, to P. Arroyo de la Cuesta, was produced, in which he an-
1 his purpose to raise the Spanish flag, asked for a, neophyte force to
aid him, and said that the southern padres had agreed to the plan. p. 88.
EXILE OF HERRERA. 85
their local chief, and Echeandia hoped he might now
safely send Herrera out of the territory. Respecting
the banishment of Padre Martinez, I shall speak in
the following chapter. 47
On May 9, 1830, the American bark Volunteer,
John Coffin Jones, Jr., master, sailed from Monterey
with fifteen prisoners on board to be delivered at San
Bias. Herrera was confined to a room constructed
for the purpose on deck; Solis and the rest were in
irons. 48 We have no particulars about the reception
of the prisoners by the Mexican authorities, but it is
certain that they were discharged from custody with-
out punishment. 49 Three at least of the soldiers,
Torre, Vejar, and one of the Altamiranos, found their
way back to California in later years; while Herrera,
in spite of all Echeandia's accusations and precautions,
was soon sent back, as we shall see, to take his old
position as comisario de hacienda. California's first
revolution was over, and little harm had been done. 53
47 Feb. 23d, Echeandia reported to min. of war the pacification of the terri-
tory, begged most earnestly for aid, and announced the fact that the revolution
had really been in the interests of Spain. St. Pap. , Sac, MS., x. 61-3. April 7th,
order from Mexico that Solis and his seven companions be tried for treason.
Also thanks to E. for having suffocated the revolt. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS.,
vi. 8. Miscellaneous communications respecting the trial in addition to those
contained in the Proceso, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 127-130; Dept. Bee, MS.,
viii. 13, 22, 32, 36, 78.
48 May 7, 1830, receipt of Jones for the 15 prisoners, as follows: Jose
Maria Herrera, Joaquin Solis, Meliton Soto, Serapio Escamilla, Raimundo de
la Torre, Pablo V6jar, Victoriano Altamirano, Gonzalo Altamirano, Leonardo
Arceo, Mariano Peguero, Andres Leon, Maximo Guerra, Antonio Guevara,
Gracia Larios, Inds Polanco. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxii. 17-18.
Sailing of the Volunteer on May 9th. Id., lxii. 28. Pattie, Narr., 23S-9,
also sailed on the Volunteer, and names Capt. Win. H. Hinckley as having
been on board and leaving the vessel at S. Bias. The prisoners reached Tepic
May 22d. Guerra, Doc., MS., vi. 129. Those belonging to the Monterey cav-
alry company were dropped from the company rolls in 1836. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxii. 65. Six other men had been sent away from Sta Bar-
bara in February in the Emily Marsham, 3 of them, Joaquin Garcia, Jose" M.
Arenas, and Antonio Peiia, for complicity in the Solis affair. Dept. Bee., MS.,
viii. 74.
49 Torre, Beminis., MS., 19-21, says that his brother Raimundo was tried
by court-martial and acquitted; whereupon the rest were discharged without
trial.
50 The Solis revolt is described more or less fully in the following narratives,
in addition to such as have been cited in the preceding pages: Avlla, Cosas,
MS., 25-8; Bandini, Hist. Cat., MS., 71-2; Amador, Mem., MS., 86-90; Fer-
nandez, Cosas de Gal., MS., 59-64; Pico, Hist. Gal., MS., 20; Castro, B<1.,
MS., 19-23; Pinto, Apunt., MS., 2; Valdcs, Mem'., MS., 18-20. It is men-
86 ECHEANDIA AND HERRERA— THE SOLIS REVOLT.
Respecting the management of the revenues in
1829-30 there is little or nothing to be said beyond
noting the fact that Osio, Jimeno, and Bandini are
mentioned as comisarios during 1830, without much
regard to chronology. It would seem that after the
revolt Jimeno was restored to his old position, and
that Bandini was appointed before the end of the year,
though there is inextricable confusion, not only in
dates, but in the offices of comisario, administrador,
and contador. 51
tioned in print by Mofras, Explor., i. 293-4; Petit-Thouars, Voy., ii. 90-1; La-
fond, Voy., 209; Pickett, in Shuck's Rep. Men, 227; Wilkes, Narr., v. 173-4j
Capron, Hist. Cal., 37-8; Tuthill, Hist. Cal., 130-1; Robinson, Life in Cat.,
09-70; and Flint, Pottle's Narr., 222-30.
bl SeeDept.St. Pap., MS., ii. 155-6; iii. 209-10; Id., Ben. Mil, lxii. 22;
lxxiii. 53; lxxiv. 6; Dept. Pec, MS., vii. 246-8; Leg. Pec, MS., i. 269, 281-
90. Apr. 25, 1830, the Calif ornian diputado in congress urged the useless-
ness of sending special officers to manage the revenues. Doc. Hist. Gal., MS.,
iv. 898. Jimeno was appointed contador on Sept. 30, 1829, by the min. de
hacienda, but declined the place in Nov. 1830. Oct. 21, 1830, Echeandia,
Bandini, and Jimeno met at Monterey, and decided on the following custom-
house organization at Monterey: administrador, with duties of comisario, at
$1,000 per year; contador, with duties of vista, at $800; commandant of the
guard, with duties of alcalde, at $800; guarda and clerk at $400; servant at
$144; patron and two sailors at $144 and $96. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 155-6.
CHAPTER IV.
ECHEANDlA AND THE PADRES— MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
1826-1830.
Mission Prefect and Presidents — The Question of Supplies— The
Oath of Allegiance — Sarria's Arrest — Friars Still Masters of
the Situation — Council at San Diego — Southern Padres Will-
ing — Northern Padres Refuse— Flight of Ripoll and Altimira —
The Friars as Spaniards — Echeandia's Conciliatory Policy — Pe-
titions of the People — Exile of Martinez — Progress towards
Secularization — Mexican Policy — Difficulties — Junta of April
1826— Decree of July — Experimental Freedom — Mission Schools
and Lands — Plan of 1829-30 — Approval of the Diputacion— Ac-
tion in Mexico — Indian Affairs — Sanchez's Expedition — Vallejo's
Campaign against Estanislao — Northern Fort — Seasons.
Vicente Francisco de Sarria retained the position
of comisario prefecto of the missions, and was not dis-
turbed in the performance of his official duties from
1826 to 1830, though nominally in a state of arrest as
a recalcitrant Spaniard. Narciso Duran retained the
presidency until September 1827 when he was suc-
ceeded by Jose Bernardo Sanchez. The latter re-
tained possession of the office until 1831, though
Duran was re-elected in May 1830. 1
The old controversy between government and friars
respecting supplies for the troops continued of course
during these five years, but with no novel aspects.
In addition to commercial imposts, a secular tithe of
1 Arch. Sta B., MS., xi. 350, 358-60, 400; xii. 369. The guardian sent
Sanchez his patent June 9, 1827; and Duran notified him Sept. 30th. San-
chez was at first unwilling to accept. Duran was elected the second time May
26, 1 830, Peyri and Antonio Jimeno being named as second and third suplentes.
Both Duran and Sanchez held the title of vicar under the bishop.
(87)
83 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
all mission products was exacted, citizens having pre-
sumably to pay this also in addition to their ecclesias-
tical tithes. 2 The method of collection was to exact
from each mission the largest possible amount of sup-
plies for escoltas and presidial garrisons, and at the end
of each year to give credit on account for the excess
of amounts thus furnished over the taxes. I find no
evidence that any part of the balance was paid in any
instance. 3 The padres gave less willingly than in for-
mer years, when there had been yet a hope of Spanish
supremacy, but the quarrels in local and individual
cases were much less frequent than might naturally be
expected, or at least such controversies have left little
trace in the records. 4
2 According to the plan de gobierno of Jan. 8, 1824, citizens paid 10 per
cent in kind on all produce, while the missions were to pay a fixed rate per
head of cattle or fanega of grain. By decree of Jan. 1, 1826, Echeandia, with
the consent of Prefect Sarria, ordered that the tax be equalized between cit-
izens and missions, the latter apparently to pay in kind. Decree of Jan. 1,
1826. S.Jose, Arch., MS., iv. 13; StaCruz, Arch., MS., 47-8; Dept. St. Pap.,
MS., i. 123; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxviii. 81, 84, 86, including orders for circu-
lation of the decree and some directions for the keeping of accounts. Aug. 25,
1827, Echeandia to Sarria, urging the importance and justice of this tax, which
here and elsewhere in official accounts is spoken of as a 'loan.' Dept. Rec,
MS., v. 80; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 37; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xix. 138.
April 22, 1826, Echeandia to min. of war. Argues that the missions should
also pay tithes. He is informed that some of them have $70,000 or $100,000
in their coffers. St. Pap., Sac, MS., xix. 30-1. Oct. 31st, Herrera to Estrada
on mission accounts. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 98.
3 June 23, 1826, circular from president received at S. Rafael to effect that
the Mex. govt was going to pay all drafts presented within six months from
Jan. 1st, and those not so presented would be outlawed. This news reached
Cal. just after the expiration of the time ! Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxviii. 9-t.
July 28, 1827, Echeandia notifies the prefect and comandantes that all cred-
itors of the national treasury must present their claims to the comisario.
Dept, Bee, MS., v. 71.
4 June 10, 1826, P. Duran to Herrera. Protests against furnishing the diezmo
of cattle branded for the national ranclio, when there has already been delivered
during the year a much larger amount than that of the tithe. A rch. A rzob. , MS. ,
v. pti. 13-16. Nov. 30th, P. Viader, upbraiding Lieut Martinez for not send-
ing money to pay for blankets, says, ' My friend, we have now arrived at a point
of date et dabitur vobis.' Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 94. Dec. 18th, Duran says
he likes to see the soldiers fill their bellies with meat, and not feel hungry.
Id., 95. April 19, 1327, draft by Habilitado Maitorena on habilitado general
in favor of Sta Barbara mission for $8,725, the amount of supplies furnished
apparently before 1825. Arch. Misiones, MS., ii. 177-8. Feb. 27, 1827, gov.
orders Lieut Ibarra, since all conciliatory and courteous means have failed, to
go with a force to S. Diego mission, and bring away all the grain the mules
can carry. Resistance will be regarded as an overt act against the nation.
Dept. Rec, MS., v. 27. Many certificates to effect that a padre has delivered
provisions ' en calidad de prtfstamo para que se le reintegre por cuenta del
OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. 89
Meanwhile the missions got nothing from the pious
fund through the Mexican treasury, in addition to the
stipends of 1819-22, the payment of which has already
been noted. It is not certain even that any of the
latter amount, about §24,000, ever came to California,
but probably some cargoes of mission goods were paid
for by the sindico at Tepic out of that sum. Only
fragments of the mission accounts have been preserved
for these years. 5
We have seen that the padres as a rule refused to
take the oath of obedience to the constitution of
1824, or to solemnize by religious exercises any act of
the republican government; and that Prefect Sarria
had been put under arrest, though it had not been
deemed wise to carry into effect the orders requiring
the reverend prisoner to be sent by the first ship to
Mexico. In fact, the friars were yet, in a great meas-
ure, masters of the situation, because they could keep
the neophytes in subjection, and above all make them
work. The great fear was that the missionaries
snpremo gobierno.' Arch. Arzob., MS., vii. passim. A large number of
drafts of comandantcs in favor of missions, 1825-30, in Id., v. pt 2. June 7,
1828, Echeandia proposes that the expense of maintaining friendly relations
with the Indians be deducted from the sums due the nearest missions. Dept.
Sec., MS., vi. 27. Oct. 7th, E. instructs Capt. Arguello to borrow $800 of the
mission of S. Jose\ Id., vi. 109-10. Oct. 22d, E. orders Lieut Jose" Fernandez
and 30. artillerymen just landed to be quartered at S. Diego mission. Id., vi.
115. Jan. 8, 1829, E. to Duran, urging him to ' lend ' supplies, or sell them for
a draft on the comisario of Sonora, which he doubts not will be paid promptly.
Id., vii. 53. May 4th, Vallejo complains of destitution at Monterey, and no
aid from the missions. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 80. Nov. 24th, similar com-
plaints from Castro. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., v. 369-70. Dec. 6th, P.
Duran says he has paid $200 on menace of force being used. S. Jos6 Arch.,
MS., ii. 48. Jan. 15, 1830, P. Viader refuses to aid directly or indirectly in
matters pertaining to war. Id., i. 37. April 25th, congressman urges the in-
justice of imposing such heavy burdens on the missions. Doc. Hist. Cal., MS.,
iv. 897-8. July 17th, com. of Sta Barbara complains that the padre will
neither give nor sell supplies. Dept. Pec, MS., viii. 55.
5 May 31, 1827, guardian to president, stipends of 1819-21 and most of
1822 paid. Certificates should be sent in for those of 1825-6. Arch. Sta B. ,
MS., xii. 400. June 27th, news received at S. Rafael; amount, $24,000.
Vallejo, Doc, MS., xviii. 97. The brig Bravo with mission goods was
wrecked at Acapulco late in 1827, but the cargo was saved. S. Luis Obispo,
Lib. Mision, MS., 7. Aug. 25, 1828, $6,861 in goods sent from Tepic to S.
Bias for shipment, consisting of woollen and cotton stuffs, rice, sugar, rebozos,
metates, and 25 pounds of cinnamon, shipped by the Maria Ester. Id., 8-9;
Doc Hist. Cal., MS., iv. 827-8.
90 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
would leave the territory en masse if too hard pressed.
Had the situation of affairs, from a financial and mil-
itary point of view, been more reassuring, the terri-
torial authorities would not have been averse to
assuming entire and immediate charge of all the
missions; while the people, for the most part, would
have rejoiced at the prospect of getting new lands
and new laborers. But as matters stood, the rulers
and leading citizens understood that any radical and
sudden change, effected without the aid of the friars,
would ruin the territory by cutting off its chief re-
sources, and exposing its people to the raids of hostile
Indians. Thus a conciliatory policy was necessary,
not only to the government, but to the friars them-
selves. The latter, though they knew their power
and often threatened to go, were old men, attached to
their mission homes, with but a cheerless prospect for
life in Spain, fully determined to spend the rest of
their days in California if possible.
Sarria's condition of nominal suspension and arrest
continued for five years or more. Once, in 1826, his
passport was made out, and he went so far as to call
upon his associates for prayers to sustain him on his
voyage. There was no countermanding of the orders,
but a repetition of them in November 1827, yet the
padre remained. He seems to have been included
with the rest in the proceedings against the friars as
Spaniards, and the special orders in his case were
allowed to be forgotten, 6 though as late as the middle
6 May 1826, one of the padres claimed to have refused to perform mass,
etc., by Sarria's order, and he signed a certificate to that effect. Dept. JRec.,
M.S., iv. 39. Oct. 31st, Echeandia notifies S. that he must leave Mexican
territory. Nov. 13th, Sarria says he is ready. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i.
24. Beechey, in 1826, speaks of S. as waiting at Monterey to embark. Voy-
age, ii. 12. Vallejo, Hist. Gal., MS., ii. 56-8, speaks of a personal interview
between the gov. and prefect at Sta Barbara. Oct. 31st, E. notifies S. that a
successor will be named and a passport issued. Dept. Bee, MS., iv. 11. Nov.
30th, sends the passport from S. Diego to Capt. Gonzalez at Monterey. Id.,
iv. 17. Dec. 11th, S. to the padres. Has received his passport from the
pres. of Mex. Is resigned, but asks for prayers. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxviii.
89. 1827, Duhaut-Cilly, Viaggio, i. 254-5, found S. kept as a kind of pris-
oner, and was asked to take him away, but declined, much to the gratification
of the padre3. Nov. 21, 1827, order from Mex. that S. be made to obey the
FRIARS AGAINST THE REPUBLIC. 91
of 1828 the governor still pretended to be waiting for
a vessel on which to send him away.
On the 28th of April, 1826, Echeandia with Zamo-
rano as secretary and the alcalde of Los Angeles met
padres Sanchez, Zalvidea, Peyri, and Martin at San
Diego to take counsel respecting the taking of the
constitutional oath by the friars. The representatives
of the latter said there was no objection to the oath
except that it compelled them to take up arms, or use
their influence in favor of taking up arms, for differ-
ences of political opinion. They would take the oath
with the supplement "So far as may be compatible
with our religion and profession;" but Echeandia
would not agree to any change in the formula, and
directed that a circular be sent out requiring each
padre to explain his views on the subject. 7 June 3d
the circular was issued through the comandantes to
the friars; but it was not so much a call for views
and arguments as for a formal decision in writing
whether each would take the oath or not. 8 The an-
swers of the five padres of the San Diego district
were sent in on the 14th. Padre Peyri was willing
to take the oath, and was enthusiastic in his devotion
to the national cause. Martin had already sworn,
and did not approve of taking two oaths on the same
subject. The rest were ready to take the oath in the
manner indicated at the junta of April 28th; that is,
to be republicans so far as was compatible with their
profession and so long as they might remain in Cali-
fornia. Replies from the Monterey jurisdiction, sent
orders of July 9, 1825, and Nov. 15, 1826, to depart. Supt. Govt St. Pap.,
MS. , xix. 43. June 30, 1828, E. to min. of justice. S. will be sent away as soon
as there is a vessel for Europe. or the U. S. Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 30.
7 Dept. St. Pap., MS., i. 128-9. The old trouble was still active in 1826,
for on May 1st Capt. Argiiello reported that yesterday having called on P.
Abella to take part in the celebration of the pope's recognition of national
independence, the padre refused. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lvii. 13-14.
Next day it was complained that P. Est6nega declined to perforin religious
services in connection with the publication of certain bandos. Arch. Arzob.,
MS., v. pt i. 4. April 28th, record of the council referred to in the text.
Dept. St. Pap., MS., i. 128-9.
8 June 3, 1826, E. to com. of Monterey. Dept. St. Pap., MS., i. 134.
92 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
in on July 7th, were to the effect that the friars could
not take the oath, and were ready to endure the pen-
alty, though some of them promised fidelity and re-
spect to the constituted authorities. The response
from San Francisco and Santa Barbara is not so far
as I know extant. 9
There was no further agitation of this matter dur-
ing the year, though a warning was received from the
comisario general against the disaffected friars, and
especially against the president, who, as the writer
had heard, talked of nothing but his religion and his
king, protesting his willingness to die for either. "If
this be true, it would be well to grant him a passport
to go and kiss his king's hand, but to go with only
bag and staff, as required by the rules of his order."
I am not certain whether this referred to Duran or
Sarria. 10
During 1827 politico-missionary matters remained
nearly in statu quo. No disposition was shown to
disturb the padres further on account of their opposi-
tion to the republic, though there were rumors afloat
that some of them were preparing to run away. Mar-
tinez, Ripoll, and Juan Cabot were those named in
June as having such intentions, and Vicente Cane
9 The position taken by the other padres will, however, be learned from a
subsequent document. Answers of the S. Diego and Monterey friars in Arch.
Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 5-9, 17-20. Among the latter Sarria was not included,
not being regarded as the minister of any particular mission. Abella 'came
to this country for God, and for God will go away, if they expel him;' Fortuni
'no se anima a hacer tal juramento, pero si guardar fidelidad;' Arroyo de la
Cuesta 'was born in the Peninsula, and is a Spaniard; swore to the indepen-
dence only in good faith to the king of Spain; has meditated upon the oath de-
manded, and swears not;' Uria 'iinds it not in his conscience to take the
oath;' Pedro Cabot 'has sworn allegiance to Fernando VII.;' Sancho, the
same, and 'cannot go back on his word;' Juan Cabot ' cannot accommodate his
conscience to such a pledge;' and Luis Martinez says 'his spirit is not strong
enough to bear any additional burden. ' Aug. 7th, Sarria addresses to the
padres a circular argument on the subject, similar to that addressed in former
years to Gov. Argiiello, and called out by an argument of P. Ripoll, who it
seems had wished to accommodate his conscience to the oath by bringing up
anew the allegiance sworn to independence and Iturbide. Id., v. pt i. 10-13.
10 Aug. 16, 182G, com. gen. to Echeandia. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and
Treas., MS., i. 3G-8. Beechey, Voyatje, ii. 12, speaks of the dissatisfaction
caused by the exacting of the oath, and says many padres prepared to depart
rather than violate their allegiance to Spain.
FLIGHT OF EIPOLL AND ALTIMIRA. 93
gave evidence on the mysterious shipment of $6,000
in gold on the Santa Apolonia by Padre Martinez, an
act supposed to have some connection with the plans
for flight. Captain Gonzalez took a prominent part
in the charges, and this was perhaps a reason why
Echeandia and others paid very little attention to the
subject. 11
The rumors had some foundation, for at the end of
December, or perhaps in January 1828, padres Ripoll
and Altimira went on board the American brig Har-
binger, Captain Steele, at Santa Barbara, and left
California never to return. They went on board the
vessel on pretence of examining certain goods, and
such effects as they wished to carry with them were
embarked by stealth. Echeandia was there at the
time, and David Spence tells us he was for some mys-
terious purpose invited to take breakfast on the brig
before she sailed, but was prevented by other affairs
from accepting. 12 Orders were at once issued to seize
the Harbinger should she dare to enter any other
port; but Steele chose to run no risks. The fugitives
left letters in which they gave as their reason for a
clandestine departure the fear that their going might
be prevented otherwise, prompt action being necessary
for reasons not stated. They were among the young-
est of the Franciscan band, and in several respects
less identified than most others with the missionary
work in California, the reader being already familiar
with certain eccentricities on the part of each. Their
destination was Spain, which they seem to have reached
in safety. A suspicion was natural that the two padres
carried away with them something more than the
'sack and staff' of their order, that they took enough
of the mission treasure to insure a comfortable voyage,
11 Statement of Cand to E. about the $6,000 shipped in August 1826. St.
Pap., Sac, MS., xiv. 14-15. June 4, 1827, Gonzalez to E. I'd., xiv. 26-30.
G. was very violent in his charges against the padres.
12 Spence, in Taylor's Discov. and Founders, ii. no. 24. Alvarado, Hist. Col. ,
MS., ii. 131-2, claims that while Ripoll and Altimira were making their es-
cape with the mission wealth, Echeandia was being feasted by the other padres
to avert suspicion. Vailejo, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 59-00, gives the same version.
94 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
and perhaps future comforts across the sea. The truth
can never be known. An investigation brought to
light nothing more suspicious than the transfer of cer-
tain barrels and boxes of wine, soap, and olives, with
perhaps other packages of unknown contents, from San
Buenaventura to Santa Barbara. 13 In their own let-
ters, the padres said they had left the mission property
intact. Duhaut-Cilly, however, had lately sold Bipoll
an English draft for 7,000 francs, 14 which he said
came to him legitimately from his stipend. Though
Alvarado and Vallejo accuse the padres of having
stolen large sums, and their method of flight favored
the suspicion, I suppose that a few thousand dollars
was probably all they took, and that the}^ had but lit-
tle difficulty in justifying the act to their own satisfac-
tion, in view of their past stipends either unpaid or
invested in supplies for the Indians. 15
In reporting the flight of Bipoll and Altimira,
Echeandia suggested the expediency of granting
passports to those who had asked for them, with a
view to avoid such scandals; and he did send a pass
to Padre Martinez in September to prevent the dis-
grace of his intended flight. 16 There was also a
scandal respecting the actions of President Sanchez,
whose letters and some goods being conveyed by John
Lawlor from San Gabriel to the sea-shore were stopped
13 Dept. St. Pap. , Ben. Mil. , MS. , lxvii. 5-9, containing the testimony of
several men and the letters of Altimira to Geo. Coleman, the llavero of S.
Buenaventura, dated Jan. 23d from on board the vessel. They contain kind
wishes for all in Cal., instructions about mission affairs, and good spiritual
counsels for Coleman. The padre, according to Coleman's testimony, took a
small box of cigars and some books.
14 Duhaut-ClUy, Viaggio, ii. 184-5.
15 Mrs Orel., Ocurreneias, MS., 22-4, says they took no money at all.
Pupoll wept as he took leave of some of his Indians who went on board in
Steele's boat. Jan. 25, 1828, Echeandia announces the flight, and orders the
Harbinger to be seized. Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 174. Jan. 28th, Alf. Pliego or-
dered secretly to investigate the robbery said to have been committed by Al-
timira. Id., vi. 175. Feb. 5th, Lui3 Argiiello alludes to the flight. St. Pap.,
Sac, MS., x. 102-3. Mar. 2Gth, the authorities at S. Fernando college disa-
vowed having authorized or even known the flight. Arch. Sta. B., MS., ix.
90-1. Mar. 20, 1829, the Zacatecas college will replace Ripoll and Altimira.
Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., iv. 2-3.
10 Jan. 29, 1828, E. to min. of rel. Dept, Bee, MS., vi. 22. Sept. 23d,
E. to Martinez. Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. 0-7.
PRESIDENT SANCHEZ ACCUSED OF SMUGGLING. 95
and searched by Alcalde Carrillo of Los Angeles, on
suspicion of complicity in smuggling. Sanchez was
indignant at what he deemed an insult, and demanded
his passport; but Echeandia, by declaring the suspicions
unfounded, and by conciliatory methods, succeeded in
calming the worthy president's wrath. 17
The law of 1827 on the expulsion of Spaniards
from Mexican territory, 1 s reaching California in 1828,
had no other effect on the status of the missionaries
than to give them another safe opportunity to demand
their passports, as many of them did, some perhaps
really desiring to depart. There was no disposition to
enforce the decree, for reasons known to the reader. 19
Meanwhile the Spanish friars had been actually ex-
pelled from Mexico, and a most disheartening report
came respecting the state of affairs at the college of
San Fernando. 23
There would seem to have been some complaint
against Echeandia for not having enforced the law of
o- m o
1827, for in June 1829, apparently before the arrival
of the law of March 20th, he sent to Mexico a list of
17 June 3, 1828, Lawlor to Sanchez. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 63-4.
June 8th, Sanchez to E. Id., 6.1-6. Aug. 21st, 29th, E. to S. and to the
alcalde. Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 84-5, 90.
18 See chap. ii. of this volume.
19 Oct. 20, 1828, Echeandia to min. of war. The padres are violent at the
law for their expulsion, and are clamoring for passports and complaining of
detention by force. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 39-40. Dec. 6th, E. says that
most of the 27 padres have agreed long before the date of the law to take
the oath as was reported to Mexico on Dec. 6, 1826. (This report is not ex-
tant, but it is certainly not true that most had made such a promise.) If
passports were issued as several have asked, the missions would be left with-
out government and the territory without spiritual care. Dcpt. Rec, MS., vi.
50. Duhaut-Cilly says he offered to carry the padres over to Manila; but he
got a letter from Sarria, in which he said he was resolved not to abandon the
flock intrusted to him by heaven until forced to do so, and he advised his
companions to the same effect. The same writer notes the arrival of 3 Fran-
ciscans — they could not have been from California — at the Sandwich Islands
on the French ship ComUe. Viaggio, ii. 200-1, 219-20.
2J March 26, 1828, P. Arreguin to Sarria. It had been at first proposed to
dissolve the college; but finally the guardian and discretorio had decided to
choose a vicario de casa, and had chosen the writer, lie asks for Sarria's
views about the policy of keeping up the college, where there were now Ar-
reguin and 3 other priests, 2 sick Spaniards unable to depart, and 6 or 10
servants of different grades. Arch. Sta U., MS., ix. 90-4.
96 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
the padres, with notes on the circumstances of each, 21
and a defence of his action, or failure to act, on the
ground that all the padres except three were Spaniards,
and it would have been absurdly impossible to expel
them with nobody to take their place. He also urged
that many of them be allowed to remain permanently
in the territory. Only a few days later there came
the law of March 20th, much more strict than the
other, and it was circulated on the 6th of July. The
announcement was that to all padres who had refused
to take the oath passports would be given forthwith,
while all the rest must show within a month the.
physical impediments preventing their departure as
required by the law. 22 As before, no friar was ex-
pelled, and Echeandia had no idea of granting pass-
ports, though several, including Peyri, Sanchez, and
Boscana, now demanded them, and though the gov-
ernor really desired to get rid of certain unmanageable
ones as soon as he could obtain others to take their
places. 23 Not only did he send to Mexico a defence
of his policy of inaction, showing the impossibility of
the expulsion so far as California was concerned; but
2X Dept. Bee, MS., vii. 26-33. The following friars had taken the oath:
Fernando Martin, 60 years old; Antonio Peyri, 70 years; Francisco Suner, 71
years; and Marcos Antonio de Vitoria, 69 years, who however had subse-
quently retracted, though faithful and obedient to the government, of blame-
less life, and probably influenced by his excessive respect for his prelate.
The following had taken the oath with some conditions: Gonzalez de Ibarra,
Antonio Jaime, and Arroyo de la Cuesta; Boscana was ready to take the oath,
and Barona, Zalvidea, and Jose Sanchez also with the conditions. This left
14 who would not take the oath, of whom Catala., Viader, and Abella were
over 60 years old; several were in bad health, and several were highly recom-
mendable for their faithfulness. Should new padres come, E. proposed to grant
passports to Arroyo, Ordaz, P. Cabot, Sancho, J. Cabot, Ibarra, Oliva, Duran,
Estenega, Abella, and Uria, in that order. There were recommended to re-
main, Amoros, Catala, Vitoria, Viader, Fortuni, Martin, Boscana, Sanchez,
Zalvidea, and especially Peyri, Jaime, Barona, and Suner. Martinez was the
only one who had asked for a passport on the ground of not wishing to con-
form. Duhaut-Cilly, Viaggfo, ii. 187-8, mentions the coming of the Domin-
icans President Luna and P. Caballero to S. Gabriel in June, to consult about
the expulsion.
22 July 6, 1829, E. to various officials. De.pt. St. Pap., MS., ii. 92-3, 97; Id.,
S. Jose, ii. 16-17; Dept.Rec, MS., vii. 190-1.
%) July-September, applications of the padres for passports. Arch. Arzob.,
MS., v. pti. 54-7. Aug. 11th, Echeandia to min. of rel. St. Pap., Sac, MS.,
x. 43-6. In this document the gov. gives a very clear and complete statement
of the whole matter.
THE MISSIONARIES AS SPANIARDS. 97
the ayuntamientos of San Jose, Monterey, and per-
haps other places, sent strong petitions on the evils
that must result from such expulsion, expressing for
the missionaries the deepest love and veneration, and
pleading eloquently that the people might not be de-
prived of their spiritual guardians. 24 I find no re-
sponses to these petitions, nor are there any definite
orders of later date on the subject, which, except in
certain particulars to be noted in the next paragraph,
seems to have been now allowed to rest. One of the
Spanish friars, however, received before the end of
1829 a passport to a land where it is to be hoped his
political troubles were at an end. This was the aged
and infirm Padre Jaime, who died at Santa Barbara.
I have said that Echeandia deemed it desirable to
get rid of certain padres. Personal feeling was his
motive in part; moreover, it was important to remove
certain obstacles likely to interfere with his policy of
secularization, of which more hereafter. Prejudice
against all that was Spanish was the strongest feeling
in Mexico, and there was no better way for the gov-
ernor to keep himself in good standing with the power
that appointed him than to go with the current. It
also favored Echeandia's plans respecting his enemy
Herrera, while increasing the importance of his own
services, to show the existence of a strong revolution-
ary spirit in favor of Spain. There was, however, but
a slight foundation on which to build. The padres
were Spaniards, and as a rule disapproved the new
form of government; but it is not likely that any of
them had a definite hope of overthrowing the repub-
lic, or of restoring California to the old system, and
the most serious charge that could be justly brought
against them was an occasional injudicious use of the
21 Aug. 25th, 8. Jose', Petition del Ayuntamknto en favor de los FrallesEs-
pafioles, 1829, MS.; Monterey, Peticional Presidente y Congreso en, favor de los
Frailes Espafioles, 1820, MS. Oct. 22d, gov. approves the petitions. Dept.
Pec, MS., vii. 239. Oct. 12th, Virmond writes from Mexico that the presi-
dent had not the slightest idea of expelling the friars. Guerra, Doc, MS., vi.
145-8.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 7
OS ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
tongue. Generally the prevalent rumors of treason
could be traced to nothing reliable.' 25
Of all the padres, Martinez of San Luis Obispo was
the most outspoken and independent in political mat-
ters, besides being well known for his smuggling pro-
pensities. Echeandia deemed his absence desirable
for the quiet of the territory, and had issued a pass-
port which had not been used. It was thought best
on general principles to make an example; it was par-
ticularly desirable to give a political significance to
the Solis revolt, and Padre Martinez was banished on
a charge of complicity in that revolt in the interest
of Spain. The evidence against him was not very
strong; 26 but there was little risk, since as a Spaniard
the accused might at any time be legally exiled. He
was arrested early in February 1830, and confined in
a room of the comandancia at Santa Barbara. In
his testimony he denied all the allegations against
him, except that of giving food to the soldiers, as
others had also done and as it was customary for the
missionaries to do, whoever their guests might be.
He claimed to have tried to dissuade Solis from his
foolish scheme of raising the Spanish flag. In a long
and eloquent communication addressed to Echeandia,
25 Sept. 9, 1829, gov. to comandantes. Has heard that some padre burns
daily two tapers before a portrait of Fernando VII. ; and that another pre-
dicts from his pulpit the coming of the Spanish king. Find out secretly who
do these things, and forward the result. St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 25, 48; Dept.
Eec, MS., vii. 44. The guilty parties were not found.
2J The evidence, some of the items resting on the statement of a single
soldier, was, so far as it is on record, as follows: That he had freely supplied
the rebels with food, had been very intimate with Solis and his leaders at San
Luis, had shown anger at certain soldiers when they said 'viva la repiiblica,'
had spoken mysteriously of Lis 'amo Francisquito,' in Spain or Mexico, had
shown a paper with 'viva Fernando VII. ' written on it, had derided inde-
pendence and liberty, and had lodged Alf. Fernandez del Campo in a room
which bore the inscription ' V. F. 7 ' on the ceiling. Solis, Proceso, etc., MS.;
Fernandez to Echeandia in St. Pap., Sac, MS., x. 26-7. Vallejo, 1/ int. Cat.,
MS., ii. 93-103, tells us that there were documents proving conclusively that
Martinez was plotting against the republic and carrying on a secret corre-
spondence with the rebels in Mexico; but nothing of this kind was shown in
the recorded evidence, and the same may bo said of a letter of encouragement
from Martinez found on the person of Solis at his capture, mentioned by Al-
varado. Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 155.
EXILE OF FATHER MARTINEZ. 99
protesting against the manner of his treatment, Mar-
tinez, while not attempting to deny his well known
political sentiments, claimed that he was not such a
fool as to suppose that Spain could be benefited by
petty revolts in California, that he desired the wel-
fare of the territory, and that in his opinion it could
not be advantageously separated from Mexico. The
two padres Cabot testified to having seen letters in
which Martinez declined to take part in the political
schemes of Solis, declaring that if the king wished to
conquistar any part of America, he might do it him-
self, in his own way. Prefect Sarria also presented
an argument to prove Martinez innocent. 27
The 9th of March a junta de guerra, composed of
six officers, besides the governor, met at Santa Barba-
ra to decide on the friar's fate. Echeandia explained,
at considerable length, the difficulties in the way of
administering a suitable penalty, and he seems to
have counselled leniency, fearing or pretending to fear
the action of the other padres; but after full discus-
sion, it was decided by a vote of five to one to send
him out of Mexican territory by the first available
vessel. 23 Stephen Anderson, owner of the English
brig Thomas Noivlan, was called in immediately, and
gave bonds to carry the prisoner to Callao, and put
him on board a vessel bound for Europe. Padre
Martinez, on the same day, promised in verbo sacer-
dotis not to land at Manila or the Sandwich Islands,
and on March 20th the Noivlan sailed. 23 The friar
27 Martinez admitted to Lieut Romualdo Pacheco that he had received
letters from Solis, urging him to arm his neophytes in defence of the Spanish
flag soon to be raised. St. Pap., Miss, and Col., MS., ii. 30-1. Testimony of
Martinez and the PP. Cabot in Solis, Proceso, MS., 100-1, 98-9. March 4th,
Martinez, Defensa dirigida al Comandante General, 1SS0, MS., in Id., 93-8.
Feb. 9th, Sarria, Defensa del Padre, Luis Martinez, 1830, MS. Mrs Ord,
Ocurrencias, MS., 31-0, gives some details of the padre's confinement in her
father's house, and the efforts of members of the family to relieve the pris-
oner's wants in spite of the severity of Lieut Lobato. This writer and many
other Californians think there was no foundation for the special charges
against Martinez at this time.
28 Record of the junta of March 9th, in Solis, Proceso, MS., 102-5. The
officers were J. J. Ilocha, M. G. Vallejo, Domingo Carriilo, M. G. Lobato, J.
M. Ibarra, and A. V. Zamorano. A previous junta of Feb. 26th is alluded to.
w CarriUo {Jose), Doc., MS., 21. The Spaniards A. J. Cot and family,
100 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
reached Callao in June, and subsequently arrived
safely in Madrid, whence he wrote to his friends in
California. There were those who believed that he
carried away a large amount of money, an exploit
which, if actually accomplished, considering the cir-
cumstances of his departure, surpassed in brilliancy
all his previous deeds as a contrabandista. 30 Even if,
as I suppose, he carried little or no gold at his depart-
ure, it is not probable that so shrewd a man of busi-
ness had neglected in past years to make some
provision for future comfort.
The most important problem affecting the missions
was that of secularization; but it hardly assumed a
controversial aspect during this period. The missions,
as the reader is well aware, had never been intended
as permanent institutions, but only as temporary
schools to fit savage gentiles for Christian citizenship.
The missionaries themselves neverdenied thisintheory,
but practically nullified the principle, and claimed per-
petuity for their establishments by always affirming, no
matter whether the spiritual conquest dated back five
or fifty years, that the Indians were not yet fitted to
become citizens. This was, moreover, always true,
even if it was a virtual confession that the mission
system was a failure, and it presented serious difficul-
ties in the way of secularization. The cortes of Spain
had decreed, however, in 1813, that all missions ten
years after foundation must be changed into pueblos,
subject to secular authority both in civil and religious
affairs, 31 and the success of independence made the
and J. I. Mancisidor sailed in the same vessel. Feb. 6th, Echeandia's order
to arrest Martinez. Dept. Etc., MS., viii. 16. March 9th, E. announces the
sentence to Prefect Sarria. Id., viii. 27.
3j Vallcjo, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 96-100, says that he was the officer who
took Martinez on board. He walked very slowly, but as he was old and
corpulent, was not hurried. When they were alone in the cabin the padre
said : ' Perhaps you thought me drunk. Not so, my son, but see here' — pro-
ceeding to show that his clothing was heavily lined with gold ! The young
alferez was glad to know that the friar had made provision for a rainy day,
and promised to keep his secret.
31 See chap, xviii., vol. ii., for the decree of Sept. 13, 1813, and subsequent
developments in Cal.
POLICY OF SECULARIZATION. 101
change inevitable. The spirit of Mexican republican-
ism was not favorable to the longer existence of the
old missions under a system of land monopoly strongly
tinged with some phases of human slavery. If the
Indians were not fit for citizenship, neither were they
being fitted therefor.
Echeandia and the administration that appointed
him desired to secularize the missions, but understood
that it was a problem requiring careful study. Neither
party was disposed to act hastily in the matter: the
Mexican authorities largely perhaps because of indif-
ference to the interests of a territory so far away;
and the governor bv reason not only of his natural
tendency to inaction, but of the difficulties with which
on arrival he found himself surrounded. These diffi-
culties, as the reader has learned, were insurmountable.
Had the territorial finances been in a sound condition,
had the military force been thoroughly organized and
promptly paid, had there been fifty curates at hand to
take charge of new parishes, had the territory been
to some extent independent of the missions — even with
these favorable conditions, none of which existed, sec-
ularization would have been a difficult task if not a
risky experiment, requiring for success at least the
hearty cooperation of the friars. Under existing
circumstances, however, which need not be recapitu-
lated here, against the will of the padres, who, with
their influence over the neophytes and their threats
to retire en masse, were largely masters of the situa-
tion, any radical change in the mission status would
bring ruin to the territory.
The governor recognized the impossibility of imme-
diate action; but in accordance with the policy of J lis
government, 32 with his own republican theories, with
32 Jan. 31, 1825, min. of war to gov. A statement of grievances suffered
by the Indians of Cal. States that it is the president's desire to do away
with so vicious a system, but suggests that the reform should perhaps be one
of policy rather than of authority. It is not expedient to break up openly
the system of the padres, who if offended might by their influence cause great
evils. Still it was essential to check the arbitrary measures that oppressed
the Indians, and afford the latter the advantages of the liberal system — but
102 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
the spirit rapidly evolved from controversies with the
friars on other points, and with the urgings of some
prominent Californians who already had their eyes on
the mission lands, he had to keep the matter alive by
certain experiments intended to test the feelings and
capabilities of the neophytes. 33 On April 28, 1826,
Echeandia and his secretary, Zamorano, held a con-
sultation with padres Sanchez, Zalvidea, Peyri, and
Martin at San Diego, at which after the padres had
expressed their willingness to surrender the temporal
management, the governor made a speech on the im-
portance of providing for the Indians of San Diego,
and Santa Barbara who desired to leave the neofia
and manage for themselves. After discussion, it was
agreed that those of good conduct and long service
might be released, to form a pueblo at San Fernando
or San Luis, under regulations to be fixed by the gov-
ernor. 34
After later consultations not definitely recorded, at
which the plan was considerably modified, Echeandia
issued, July 25th, a decree, or proclamation, of partial
emancipation in favor of the neophytes. By its terms
those desiring to leave the missions might do so, pro-
vided they had been Christians from childhood, or for
fifteen years, were married, or at least not minors,
and had some means of gaining a livelihood. The
Indians must apply to the presidial comandante, who
after obtaining a report from the padre was to issue
through the latter a written permit entitling the
neophyte and his family to go wherever they pleased,
guardedly and slowly to avoid the license that might result from unwise
measures. All is intrusted to E.'s experience and good judgment. St. Pap.,
Miss, dud Colon., MS., ii. 42, quoted by E. in 1833 in aletter toFigueroa.
33 According to Alvarado, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 109-10; Val/ejo, His'. Col.,
MS., ii. 51-3; Vallejo, licminis., MS., 89-90, Echeandia, immediately after
taking his office, sent Lieut Pachcco to make a tour of inspection in the
southern missions. The padres were hot pleased; but Pacheco having some
trouble with P. Boscana at S. Juan Capistrano, went so far as to assemble the
neophytes and to make a political speech, in which he told the Indians of a
new chief who had come to the country to be their friend, and give them equal
rights with Spaniards.
Zi Uept. St. Pap., MS., i. 129-30.
EXPERIMENTAL SECULARIZATION. 103
like other Mexican citizens, their names being erased
from the mission registers. The cases of absentees
were to be investigated by the comandantes at once,
and those not entitled to the license were to be re-
stored to their respective missions. At the same time
the padres were to be restricted in the matter of pun-
ishments to the 'mere correction' allowed to natural
fathers in the case of their children; unmarried males
of minor age only could be flogged, with a limit of
fifteen blows per week; and faults requiring more
severe penalties must be referred to the military
authorities. 35 The provisions of this order applied
only to the districts of San Diego, Santa Barbara, and
Monterey; though in 1828 it was extended to that of
San Francisco, excepting the frontier missions of San
Rafael and San Francisco Solano. 36
This order of 1826 was the only secularization
measure which Echeandia attempted to put in actual
operation before the end of 1830. It does not appear
that the missionaries made any special opposition, and
the reasons of their concurrence are obvious. First,
very few neophytes could comply with the conditions,
especially that requiring visible means of support.
Second, the decree required fugitives not entitled to
license to be returned to their missions by the mili-
tary, a duty that of late years had been much
neglected. And third, and chiefly, experimental or
partial secularization was deemed by the friars to be
in their own interest, since they had no fears that the
neophytes would prove themselves capable of self-
35 July 25, 1S2G, Echecmdia, Decreto de Emancipation a favor de Nedjitos,
18.2G, MS. Received at S. Rafael Aug. 23d. Arch. Misiones, MS., i. 297.
Forwarded by Lieut Estudillo to padre of S. Antonio. Arch. Arzob., MS., v.
pt ii. 114-17. Sergt Anastasio Carrillo sent by Capt. Guerra to proclaim
tlie new order in the missions of the Sta Barbara district, as he did at S.
Fernando on Sept. 2Gth and at S. Buenaventura on Sept. 29th. Doc. Hist.
CjL, MS., iv. 789-92. Here the Indian was authorized, should the cabo de
escolta and padre refuse to act in presenting his application for license, to
leave the mission without permission and apply in person to the comandante.
Vallcjo, Hist. Cat., MS., iv. 22, quotes the order of July 23th.
36 June 20, 1828, gov. to comandantes and prefect. Dept. Rec, MS., vi.
57.
104 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
government. Respecting the result, we have no sat-
isfactory information. I find no record of the number
of neophytes who under the order obtained their free-
dom, nor of the manner in which they used their lib-
erty. Beechey, the English navigator, tells us that
the governor was induced by the padres to modify
his plans, and to try experiments with a few neo-
phytes, who, as might have been expected, fell soon into
excesses, gambled away all their property, and were
compelled to beg or steal. 37
While the governor doubtless used his influence to
imbue the neophytes with ideas of independence and.
civil liberty, not conducive to contentment with mission
life, 33 no definite progress was made, except in the
preparation of plans, in the years 1827-9. In July 1827
the prefect was ordered to see to it that a primary
school was supported at each mission, and compliance
was promised. 39 In October of the same year, Eche-
andia called for a detailed report on the lands held
by each mission to be rendered before the end of the
year. I find no such report in the records, though
the local reports for the next year did, in several
instances, contain a list of the mission ranchos. 43
37 Beechey 's Voyage, ii. 12-13, 320. A few doc. bearing on individual cases
of application for license. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lvii. 23-4; Dept.
Bee, MS., v. 05; viii. 34. April 27, 1827, gov. says to com. of S. Diego that
as the Indians of S. Juan neglect their work and make a wrong application
of their privileges, they are to be admonished seriously that those who behave
themselves properly will obtain their full freedom when his plans are per-
fected, while others will be punished. Dept. Rec, MS., v. 44. May 20, 1827,
Martinez is to inform the Indians that in a few days E. will issue an order for
them to be treated the same as gente de razon. Id., v. 46. Dec. 6, 1826, E.
to sup. govt. Speaks of the monopoly by the friars of all the land, labor,
and products of the territory; of their hatred for the present system of gov-
ernment; and of the desirability of making at least a partial distribution of
mission property among the best of the neophytes. Id., v. 132-3. Oct. 20,
1828, E. to min. of war, says the Ind. at most missions are clamoring to be
formed into pueblos. St. Pap., Sac., MS., x. 39-40.
38 Mrs Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 52-4, says that the ideas instilled into the
minds of the neophytes by the gefe politico made a great change in them.
They were not as contented nor as obedient as before. Osio, Hist. Gal., MS.,
119-20, takes the same view of the matter.
89 Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 35; Dept. Bee, MS., v. 54; Ley. Bee, MS., i.
79-80.
40 Oct. 7th. Echeandia's bando in Olvera, Doc, MS., 1. Names of mission
ranchos in the south. Prov. St. Pap., Presid., MS., i. 97-S. Bandini, in a
THE GOVERNOR'S ACTS. 105
The order brought out, however, from the padres
of San Juan Capistrano, a defence of the Indian title
to the lands in California running back to the time
when, according to Ezra the prophet, the Jews wan-
dered across Bering Strait to people America. 41
In a communication of 1833 Echeandia, after al-
luding to bis instructions, by which, as we have seen,
much was left to his own judgment, explained his acts
in these years as follows: " Intrusted with the task
of arranging the system of both Californias, supplying
as best I could in indispensable cases the lack of ad-
ministration of justice, busied in regulating the treas-
ury branches since the comisario abused his trust,
lacking the necessary supplies for the troops, at the
end of my resources for other expenses, struggling to
put in good order the necessarily tolerated traffic with
foreign vessels, anxious to establish regular and secure
communication with Sonora via the Colorado, combat-
ing the general addiction to the Spanish government
and the despotic system, encountering the abuses in-
troduced in all branches by the revolution and enor-
mously propagated by the total neglect of the viceregal
government during the war of independence — occupied,
I say, with so many cares, without aid in the civil or
military administration, and finally having no Mexican
priests to take the place of the malecontent Spaniards
in divine worship, if they should abandon it as hap-
pened at Santa Barbara and San Buenaventura, or
should be expelled as insufferable royalists, as some of
them are, and as was he of San Luis Obispo, who
favored the Solis revolt for Spain — which, though I
had the good fortune to suppress it, interfered with
the progress of good government — some of the mis-
sionaries mismanaging the property of their subjects,
and others refusing to remain under the federal gov-
letter to Barron, 1828, says the missions have seized upon nearly all the land
in the territory, so as to exclude private persons. Bandini, Doc, MS., 8.
41 Zalvidca and Barona, Petition al Gefe Politico d favor de loslndios, 1827,
MS.
103 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
eminent if the missions were reformed; compromised
thus in different ways, seeing that in the missions there
remained almost illusory my repeated orders and pro-
visions that the converts should be relieved from the
cruel and infamous punishments which were arbi-
trarily applied to them, and enjoy a little their per-
sonal liberty and the fruit of their toil, and receive in
their schools the elements of a Christian and civil ed-
ucation ; when by my own observations and intercourse
with missionaries and neophytes — in spite of the flat-
teries and obstacles urged that I might not remove
the yoke from those miserable conquistados — I had
formed a definite conception of my duty, I completed
a plan reglamentario to take from the missionaries the
temporal administration, which I sent to the govern-
ment secretly, if I remember aright, in 1829, explain-
ing the necessity of proper persons to make surveys,
and to establish in due form the new settlements." 42
At the session of July 20, 1830, Echeandia brought
his secularization plan before the cliputacion, by which
body, after much discussion and some slight modifica-
tions, it was approved in the sessions from July 29th
to August 3d. This plan provided for the gradual
transformation of the missions into pueblos, begin-
ning with those nearest the presidios and pueblos, of
which one or two were to be secularized within a year,
and the rest as rapidly as experience might show to be
practicable. Each neophyte was to have a share of
the mission lands and other property. The friars
might remain as curates, or establish a new line of
missions on the gentile frontier as they should choose.
The details of the twenty-one articles constituting the
document, chiefly devoted to the distribution of prop-
erty and the local management of the new towns, it
seems best to notice, so far as any notice may be re-
quired, in a subsequent chapter, in connection with
"March 19, 1833, E. to Figiieroa in St. Pap., Miss, and Col, MS., ii.
42-4. Strange as it may seem, E. makes a full stop in his sentence as above,
lie then goes on to explain his policy in 1831, of which I shall speak later.
PLAN APPROVED BY THE DIPUTACION. 107
the decree by which it was attempted to carry the
plan into effect. 43 It was not intended to enforce this
measure without the approval of the supreme govern-
ment, to which the plan was forwarded the 7th of
September. 44 There were also sent at the same time
six supplementary articles, approved by the diputacion
August 13th, providing for the establishment of two
Franciscan convents at Santa Clara and San Gabriel,
for which twenty or more friars were to be sent from
Mexico at the expense of the pious fund, and to which
the Spanish padres allowed to remain might also at-
tach themselves. These convents were intended to
supply in the future missionaries, curates, and chap-
lains. 45
Thus it is seen that the governor in his policy
toward the padres, down to the end of 1830, was by
no means arbitrary, unjust, or even hasty; 48 neither
was there so bitter a controversy between him and the
friars as would be inferred from the general tone of
what has been written on the subject. 47 In these last
years of the decade we have from the padres no spe-
43 Echeandia, Plan para convertir en pueblos las misiones de laAlta California,
1820-30, MS. Vallejo, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 105-9, and Alvarado, Hist. Cal.,
LIS., ii. 159-60, mention the action of the diputacion, and give the substance
of an introductory message or argument presented by Echeandia on the ad-
vantages of secularization.
"Sept. 7, 1830, E. to min. of rel. Dept. Rec, MS., viii. 79.
'"Leg. Rec, MS., i. 1G3-6; Guerra, Doc, MS., i. 15-17; Dept. Rec, MS.,
viii. 79.
1G Duhaut-Cilly, Viaggio, i. 283-5, notes that E. used gentle measures, as
he was obliged to do, while the padres were less careful about the prosperity
of the missions than they had formerly been. Shea,, Catholic Missions, 109-12,
represents E. 's rule as a succession of arbitrary and oppressive acts against the
friars. Fernandez, Corns de Cal., MS., 45, says that E. had few scruples and
aimed only to enrich himself by despoiling the missions. Spence, according
to Taylor's Discov. and Founders, ii. 24, says that E. had taken some rash
steps toward the padres, and they retaliated by subjecting him to every in-
convenience. Dr Marsh, Letter to Com. Jones, MS., 2, tells us that E. 're-
leased some of the Indians from the missions that his own particular friends
might appropriate their services to their own use.'
i7 Vallejo, Hint. Cal., MS.,ii. 53-4, and Alvarado, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 89-
90, tell us that about 1820 the padres not only refused to furnish any more
supplies for the troops, but had a large part of the mission cattle slaughtered
for their hides and tallow, with a view to run away with as much as possible of
the mission wealth. I think, however, that these writers, like others, exaggerate
the quarrel, and that there was no such slaughter of cattle until several years
later.
103 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
cial protest against the plan of secularization that was
being prepared. This was partly because they be-
lieved that protests and arguments addressed to the
territorial authorities would be without effect, partly
because they still thought that secularization could
not be effected for want of curates; but largely also, I
suppose, because they had hopes of benefits to be de-
rived from the struggle going on in Mexico. Busta-
mante's revolution against Guerrero was understood
to be in the interest of a more conservative church
and mission policy. There is no proof that the Cal-
ifornia padres were at the beginning in direct under-
standing with the promoters of the movement, but
such is not unlikely to have been the case ; 4S and there
certainly was such an understanding directly after
Bustamante's accession. At any rate, their hopes of
aid from the new executive proved to be well founded,
as we shall see. Meanwhile the national authorities
were even more dilatory and inactive than those of the
territory. Nothing whatever was done in the mat-
ter. The famous junta de fomento seems to have
made some kind of a report on secularization before it
ceased to exist. Congress took it up in 1830, but
decided to leave the missions alone at least until the
48 In the famous Fitch trial, Fitch, Causa Criminal, MS., etc., 339-40,
President Sanchez, urged to arrest Echeandia for trial before an ecclesiastical
court, declined to do so on account of the tumult it would cause, the prospect
of an early change of governors, and the recommendations of Bustamante in
his 'most esteemed private letter of April 11th,' which is quoted as follows:
'Your zeal should not rest a moment in a matter of so great interest; you will
understand at once the rectitude of my intentions. Therefore I promise my-
self that you will not only aid by your influence and by every means in your
power the success of my plans, but also take the greatest pains to reestablish
public tranquillity, which to my great sorrow is disturbed, and to bring about
perfect peace and harmony among the people. This is my business, which I
recommend very particularly to the prudence of your paternity, on whose aid
I count for the accomplishment of my desires.' The president also uses, re-
specting the new governor, the following play upon words: 'Habiendo logrado
ya esta desgraciada provincia su Victoria, seguramente se debe esperar que
csta jurisdiccion eclesiastica usurpada, y oprimida, tambien conseguira su
victoria.' Vallcjo, Hist. Cat., MS., ii. 109-10, says that the padres learned
of Bustamante's pronunciamiento just after the action of the diputacion, and
that they immediately signed a petition to the govt against Echeandia,
though pretending to the latter at the same time to be anxious to give up tho
mission temporalities.
INDIAN AFFAIRS. 109
arrival of the deputy from California; and finally the
minister of relations approved Echeandia's'plan and
recommended it with the report of the junta to con-
gress at the beginning of 1831. 4D
There are a few items of Indian affairs in the
annals of these years that may as well be recorded
here as elsewhere, none of them requiring more than
a brief notice. In April 1826 Alferez Ibarra had
apparently two fights at or near Santa Isabel, in the
San Diego district, perhaps with Indians who came
from the Colorado region. In one case eighteen, and
in the other twenty, pairs of ears taken from the
slain — a new kind of trophy for California warfare —
were sent to the comandante general. Three soldiers
of the Mazatlan squadron had been murdered just
before, which deed was probably the provocation for
the slaughter, but the records are unsatisfactory. 50
Another event of the same year was an expedition
under Alferez Sanchez, in November, against the Co-
semenes, or Cosumnes, across the San Joaquin Valley.
These Indians had either attacked or been attacked
by a party of neophytes from Mission San Jose, who
were making a holiday trip with their alcalde, and
twenty or thirty of whom were killed, or at least
never returned. Sanchez was absent a week, and
though he had to retreat and leave the gentiles mas-
ters of the field, he had destroyed a rancheria, killed
about forty Indians, and brought in as many captives. 51
49 Mexico, Mem. Belaciones, 1831, p. 33. Carlos Carrillo, writing from
Tepic, April 2, 1831, referred to information obtained from Navarro, the
member from Lower California, that most of the congressmen had opposed
any change in the status of the missions. Guerra, Doc, MS., iv. 200. Va-
llejo, Hist. Ccd., MS., ii. 259, says a report was presented to congress on April
G, 1825, by J. J. Espinosa de los Rios, C. M. Bustamante, P. V. Sola, Tomas
Suria, Tomas Salgado, Mariano Dominguez, J. M. Almanza, Manuel Gonza-
lez de Ibarra, J. J. Ormaehea, and F. de P. Tamariz (the report of the junta
alluded to by the minister?), in favor of including the mission lands in the
colonization law of 1824. Jan. 15, 1831, Alaman to governor. The plan of
founding two convents has been referred to the minister of justice. Sup. Govt
St. Pap., MS., vii. 1.
™Dept. St. Pap. MS., i. 136-7; Id. Ben., Pre/, y Juzg., iii. 81-3; S.
Diego, Lib. Mision, MS., 96.
01 Sanchez, Journal of the enterprise agaiiujt the Cosemenes, 182G. ' Written
110 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADRES.
In 1829 took place the somewhat famous campaigns
against the native chieftain Estanislao, who has given
his name to the Stanislaus river and county. Estan-
islao was a neophyte of more than ordinary ability,
educated at Mission San Jose, of which establishment
he was at one time alcalde. He ran away probably
in 1827 or early in 1828, took refuge with a band of
ex-neophytes and gentiles in the San Joaquin Valley,
and with his chief associate, Cipriano, soon made him-
self famous by his daring. In November 1828 he
was believed by the padres of San Jose and Santa
Clara to be instigating a general rising among the
neophytes, and Comandante Martinez was induced to
send a force of twenty men against him. 52 The expe-
dition was not ready to start till May 1829, Estanis-
lao in the mean time continuing his onslaughts and
insulting challenges to the soldiers. 53
with gunpowder on the field of battle!' in Beechey's Voyage, ii. 24-31. The
expedition lasted from Nov. 19th to Nov. 27th. The mission of S. Jose" had
defrayed the expenses, the padre deeming it necessary to avenge the outrage
on his neophytes; but he thought the 40 new converts too dearly bought,
feared a new attack from the Cosemenes, and begged Capt. Beechey for some
fireworks with which to frighten the foe in case of necessity. In the diary
the Cosemenes, the original form of the later Cosumnes, lived on or near the
Rio San Francisco. On the way thither the army passed Las Positas, Rio
San Joaquin, and Rio Yachicume\ One soldier, Jose Maria Gomez, was killed
by the bursting of his own musket. Duhaut-Cilly, Viaggio, ii. 85-6, says
Sanchez could not get at the Indian warriors, but killed 30 women and
children, and with this shameful glory returned, bringing 2 children and an
old woman captives. He says the neophyte victims belonged to San Francisco
Solano. Elliot gives the substance of Sanchez's diary in Overland Monthly,
iv. 341-2. Huish, Narrative, 427-30, takes the account from Beechey.
Bojorges, Recuerdos, MS., 4-7, describes the campaign with some embellish-
ments from his fancy. Nov. 3d, Bernal to Martinez. Says that 21 Christian
Indians have been killed, and calls for aid. The people are much excited.
Dept. St. Pap., MS., i. 135. May 20, 1826, Capt. Argiiello leaves S. Francisco
on a 34 days' tour of inspection eastward. St. Pap., Sac, MS., xi. 5. Jan. 22d^
corporal of S. Juan Capistrano announces rising of the Indians, who have
insulted him and want to put the padre in the stocks. Dept. St. Pap., MS., i.
134-5. April 1827, complaints of robberies at the same mission. Id., ii. 12.
Feb. 1827, trouble at S. Luis Rey, where a neophyte used some very violent and
vile language against the Mexican govt and its Cal. representatives. Dept. St.
Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lviii. 2; Beechey's Voyage, ii. 36. Nov. 1827, allusion to
troubles with gentiles at Sta Clara. Dept.' Bee., MS., v. 115. Oct. 23, 1828,
Indian children from the Tukres, that had been given to residents of Monte-
rey, ordered to be restored to their parents. St. Pap., Miss, and Col., MS.,
ii. 6. Dec, two men killed by Indians near S. Jose Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Pre/.
yJuzg.,MS., i. 20.
52 Nov. 9, 1828, PP. Duran and Viader to Martinez. Nov. 20th, Mar-
tinez to Echeandia. Arch. Ar::ob., MS., v. pt i. 08-70.
13 Possibly, however, the force of 20 men was sent out in 1828 as planned,
EXPEDITION AGAINST ESTANISLAO. Ill
On May 5th Alferez Sanchez left San Francisco
with about forty men and a swivel-gun. On the
morning of the 7th, his force having been increased at
San Jose by the addition of vecinos and Indian aux-
iliaries, he reached the spot where the foe was posted
in a thick wood on the river of the Laquisimes. The
fight, opened by the enemy, raged all day, muskets
being used on one side and arrows with a few muskets
on the other. The swivel-gun proved to be damaged
and ineffective, while the muskets of the foe were
loaded with powder only. No advantage was gained,
and at sunset Sanchez withdrew his men to a short
distance. Next morning he divided his force into six
parties of six men each. He stationed one to guard
the horses and ammunition, and two others to protect
the flanks and prevent the escape of the foe, while
with the other three, under corporals Pina, Berreyesa,
and Soto, he marched up to the edge of the wood.
As before, the fight lasted all day, and as before, noth-
ing was effected; though two of Pifia's men, who were
so rash as to enter the wood, were killed. Ammuni-
tion being exhausted, the men tired out, and the
weather excessively hot, the siege w T as abandoned, and
Estanislao left unconquered. Two soldiers had been
killed and eight wounded, while eleven of the Indian
allies w T ere also wounded, one of them mortally.
About the losses of the foe nothing was known. 54
accomplishing nothing. Osio, Hist, Cat., MS., 12G-30, describes such an ex-
pedition under Sergt Soto, during which there was a fight; while Bojorges,
Recuerdos, MS., 14-17, says it was under Corp. Pacheco and returned with-
out a fight, as did the second expedition according to Osio. In any case, it is
evident that both writers confound this entrada more or less with later ones.
March 1, 1829, P. Duran to Martinez, complaining of a new attack by Es-
tanislao on the mission Indians. A rch. Arzob. , MS. , v. pt i. 53-4. April 26th,
Martinez to alcalde of S. Jose, asking for supplies and men for an expedition
to start next Sunday. The conduct of the Indians is shameful, especially the
challenges of Estanislao. 8. Jose", Arch., MS., vi. 16. May 6th (probably an
error in date), gov. orders Martinez to send Alf. Sanchez with as many sol-
diers as possible, the S. Jose militia, and a swivel-gun on a raid against the
Indians. Dcpt. Rec, MS., vii. 149.
51 Sanchez, Compana contra Estanislao y sus Indios sublcvados, 1829, MS.
Dated at S. Jose on May 10th. Great praise was awarded to the troops for
gallantry, and especially to Corp. Soto and privates Manuel Pena and Lorenzo
Pacheco. May 5th, departure of Sanchez from S. Francisco. Dcpt. Rec,
112 ECHEANDlA AND THE PADRES.
A new expedition was prepared, for which the
troops of San Francisco under Sanchez were joined to
those of Monterey under Alferez Mariano G. Vallejo,
who was also, by virtue of his superior rank, comman-
der in chief of the army, now numbering one hundred
and seven armed men. Vallejo had not yet had much ex-
perience as an Indian-fighter, but he had just returned
from a campaign in the Tulares, in which with thirty-
five men he had slain forty-eight Indians and suffered
no casualties. 55 Having crossed the San Joaquin
River by means of rafts on May 29th, the army ar-
rived next day at the scene of the former battle, where
it was met as before by a cloud of arrows. The wood
was found to be absolutely impenetrable, and Vallejo
at once caused it to be set on fire, stationing his troops
and his three-pounder on the opposite bank of the
river. The fire brought the Indians to the edge of
the thicket, where some of them were killed. At 5
p. m. Sanchez was sent with twenty-five men to attack
the foe, and fought over two hours in the burning
wood, retiring at dusk with three men wounded.
Next morning at 9 o'clock Vallejo with thirty-seven
men again entered the wood. He found a series of
pits and ditches arranged with considerable skill, and
protected by barricades of trees and brush. Evidently
the Indians could never have been dislodged from such
a stronghold except by the agency that had been em-
ployed. Traces of blood were found everywhere, and
there were also discovered the bodies of the two sol-
diers killed in the previous battle. The enemy, how-
MS., vii. 20. Osio, Hist. Gal., MS., 129-30, gives some particulars about the
loss of the two men, and says that Soto died of his wounds a little later at S.
Jose\ Alvarado, Hist. Cat., MS., ii. 57-00, gives an absurdly exaggerated ac-
count of the battle and of the enemy's fortifications. Galindo, Apuntes, MS.,
22-4, has a quite accurate narrative from memory, recalling even the name cf
the Rio Laquisimes, which may have been that now called the Stanislaus,
though it is not certain.
55 Dept. Rec, MS., vii. 20. According to a document in Vallejo, Doc,
MS., xx. 280, Vallejo had been in two acetones de guerra as commander, one
in the Sierra Nevada from S. Miguel, and the other in the Tulares, where he
had one man killed and 15 wounded. May 16, 1829, Martinez orders Vallejo
to march with Sanchez to chastise the rebels of Sta Clara and S. Jose as-
sembled at Los Rios. Vallejo, Doc., MS., i. 174.
VALLEJO'S CAMPAIGN. 113
ever, had taken advantage of the darkness of night
and had fled. Vallejo started in pursuit. He en-
camped that night on the Rio Laquisimes, and next
morning surrounded a part of the fugitives in another
thicket near their rancheria on the Arroyo Seco.
Here there were some negotiations, but the Indians
declared they would die rather than surrender, and
late in the afternoon the attack was begun. A road
was cut through the chaparral with axes, along which
the field-piece and muskets were pressed forward and
continually discharged. The foe retired slowly to
their ditches and embankments in the centre, wound-
ing eight of the advancing soldiers. When the can-
non was close to the trenches the ammunition gave
out, which fact, and the heat of the burning thicket,
forced the men to retreat. During the nio^ht the be-
sieged Indians tried to escape one by one, some suc-
ceeding, but many being killed. Next morning
nothing was found but dead bodies and three living
women. That day, June 1st, at noon, provisions
being exhausted, Vallejo started for San Jose, where
he arrived on the fourth/ 6
56 Vallejo, Campaiia contra Estanislao y sus Tndios sublevados, 1829, MS..
This is the commander's official report dated at S. Jose June 4th. Piua,.
Diario de la Expedition al Valle de Sail Jos6 % 1820. This is a diary kept by
Corp. Lazaro Pina of the artillery, who accompanied the expedition. It
extends from May 19th, the date of departure from Monterey, to June 13th,
when they returned to Monterey. The details, beyond the limits of the
actual campaign as given in my text, are unimportant. The original MS. was
given me by Gen. Vallejo. June 5th, Martinez congratulates Vallejo on his
defeat of the rebels at Los Rios. Regrets that he could not follow up the
advantage gained. Orders him to S. Francisco to plan further operations.
Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 175. Dec. 31st, Martinez states in the hojas deservicios
of Vallejo and Sanchez that no decisive results were obtained, though 4 men
were killed (?) and 11 wounded. Id., i. 204; xx. 142. Oct. 7th, Echeandia
pardons neophytes who had been in rebellion. Dept. Iiec, MS., vii. 230. Al-
varado's narrative of this campaign, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 57-68, drawn evi-
dently from his imagination, is so wonderfully inaccurate that no condensation
can do it justice, and I have no space to reproduce it in full. Osio, Hist.
Cal., MS., 133-8, gives an account considerably more accurate than that of
Alvarado, which is not saying much in its favor. He speaks of but one bat-
tle, in which the barricades of timber were broken down by the artillery, the
order of "no quarter' was given by Vallejo, the infuriated auxiliaries wrought
a terrible carnage among the foe, and the pits dug for defences were utilized
as graves. Galindo, Apuntes, MS., 22-6, names two soldiers, Espinosa and
Soto, as fatally wounded, and says that Estanislao was captured. Bojor^es,
Recuerdos, MS., 14-22, who confounds the three expeditions, names Feua
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 8
114 ECHEANDIA AND THE PADEES.
One phase of this campaign demands further notice.
One of the contemporary narratives, the diary of Piila,
represents that at least six of the captives, including
three or four women found alive in the second thicket,
were put to death, most of them by the order or with
the consent of the commander. Osio in his history
tells us that some captured leaders were shot or
hanged to trees, and Padre Duran made a complaint,
to which no attention was paid. Vallejo in his official
report says nothing respecting the death of the cap-
tives. At the time, however, Vallejo was accused by
Padre Duran, but claimed to be innocent. 57 Echean-
dia ordered an investigation of the charge that three
men and three women, not taken in battle, had been
shot and then hanged; 58 and the investigation was
made. From the testimony the fiscal decided that
only one man and one woman had been killed, the
latter unjustifiably by the soldier Joaquin Alvarado,
whose punishment was recommended. 59 There is no
doubt that in those, as in later times, to the Spaniards,
as to other so-called civilized races, the life of an Indian
was a slight affair, and in nearly all the expeditions
outrages were committed ; but it would require strong-
er evidence than exists in this case to justify any spe-
cial blame to a particular officer. 60
In June 1827 orders were sent to Echeandia from
Mexico to found a fort on the northern frontier in the
region of San Rafael or San Francisco Solano. The
and Pacheco as the two killed under Sanchez, and says that Antonio Soto
died of his wounds at S. Jose.
57 Arch. Sta B., MS., xii. 178.
53 Aug. 7, 1829. Dept. Bee, MS., vii. 213.
c9 Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxx. 13. Lieut Martinez was the fiscal
to whom the case was intrusted.
cu A few items of Indian affairs for 1830: April, sergeants Salazar and
Rico sent with a force to prevent trouble at Sta Inds. Quiet restored in 3 days.
Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxviii. 1, 4. July-Sept., a grand paseo
maritime) proposed by P. Duran, in which the vecinos of S. Jose" were invited
to join. The object w r as to visit the rivers and Tulares, and inspire respect
among the gentiles by peaceable methods. The mission would pay the expense.
S. Jo.-iC, Arch., MS., i. 3S-9. Dec, Arrival of suspicious Indians at S. Fer-
nando. Dept. St. Pap., Angeles, MS., i. 95.
THE SEASONS, 1826-30. 115
object was not only to protect those establishments
against gentile tribes, but also and perhaps chiefly to
prevent a further extension of Russian power. The
missions were to be called upon to furnish the required
aid in laborers, implements, and food, the correspond-
ing instructions being also sent through the guardian
to the president. Echeandia's reply was to the effect
that there were no means to build a fort, but he would
try to construct quarters near San Rafael for a military
guard, and he did in March 1828 order Romualdo
Pacheco to go to the north and select a suitable site,
which is the last I hear of the matter. 61
Respecting the seasons from 1826 to 1830, I find
nothing or next to nothing in the records; but I sup-
pose that the winter of 1827-8 was a wet one, and
the next of 1828-9 one of unprecedented drought.
The flood is mentioned in various newspaper items, on
the authority of Vallejo and other old Californians,
and of trappers said to have been in the Sacramento
Valley; it is confirmed by one letter of the time, Jan-
uary 1828, which speaks of the flood at Monterey as
something like that of 18 24-5. 62 The drought of 1829
is shown by the failure of the crops, the total harvest
being 24,000 fanegas, the smallest from 1796 to 1834,
and less than half the average for this decade; though
strangely I find no correspondence on the subject save
two slight items, one from San Rafael and the other
from San Diego. 63
61 June 6, 1827, min. of war to Echeandia. St. Pap., Miss, and Col.,
MS.,ii. 310; June 13th, guardian to president. Arch. Sta B., MS., xii. 176-
7 ; Jan. 8th, 1828, E.'s reply. Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 23; Mar. 25th, E. to Pache-
co, ordering him to NopaliJlos. Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 196.
62 Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 190.
63 Dept. Rec, MS., vii. 364; Arch. Sta B., MS., xii. 181.
CHAPTER V.
ECHEANDf A'S- RULE— MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
1826-30.
Vessels of 1826 — Revenue Rules — Hartnell's Business — Hawaiian -
Flag — Coopee and the ' Rover ' — Lawsuit with Arguello— Bee-
chey's Visit in the ' Blossom ' — Books Resulting — Teading Fleet
of 1827 — Reglamentos on Liquors and Live-stock — Embarrassment
of McCulloch, Hartnell & Co. — Cunningham at Santa Catalina —
Visit of Duhaut-Cilly and Botta — Maritime Affairs of 1828—
Restrictions — Smuggling — Affair of the 'Franklin' — Cannon-
balls — Affair of the 'Karimoko' — Vessels of 1829 — Custom-
house — Arrival of the 'Brookline' — Gale's Correspondence-
Raising the Stars and Stripes — Lang at San Diego— The • Santa
Barbara' Built in California — Ships and Trade of 1830 — List of
Vessels, 1825-30.
The vessels of 1826 were forty-four in number, in-
cluding a few doubtfully recorded. There were twenty-
two American, eight English, five Mexican, four
Russian, three of the Hawaiian Islands, and one Cali-
fornian, though the latter carried the American flag.
Eleven were whalers seeking supplies; one was on a
scientific and exploring expedition; and the rest, so far
as the records show, were engaged more or less exclu-
sively in trade. Ten or twelve were included in the
list of the preceding year, having either remained over
from December to January or repeating their trip. 1
1 The vessels of the year, for more particulars about which see list at end
of this chapter, were the Adam, Alliance, Argosy, Baikal, Blossom, Charles,
Courier, Cyrits, Elena, Eliza, Franklin, Geimral Bravo, Harbinger, Inca, Inore,
J6ven Angustias, Kiahkta, Maria Ester, Maria Teresa, Mercury (2), Mero,
Moor, Olive Branch, Paragon, Peruvian, Pizarro, JRover, Sachem, Santa
Apolonia, Sirena, Solitude, Speedy, Spy, Thomas Nowlan, Timorelan, Triton,
Washington (3), Waverly, Whaleman, Young Tartar, Zamora.
(116)
TEADE REGULATIONS. 117
Vessels were not allowed to trade at way-ports,
such as Santa Cruz, San Luis, Refugio, and San Juan
Capistrano, without permission from the governor,
which was easily obtained unless there was especial
cause for suspicion. In June, Herrera, following
instructions from his superior in Sonora, ordered that
no vessel be allowed to load or unload in any other
port than Monterey. He admitted that such a rule
was ruinous to the territorial commerce, and said he
had protested against it, but could not disobey orders.
Echeandia, however, countermanded the rule provi-
sionally, and it did not go into effect; but at the same
time an internacion duty of fifteen per cent and an
averia duty of two and a half per cent were added to
the former import duty of twenty-five per cent, mak-
ing a total of 42^ per cent, besides an anchorage tax
of $10 for each vessel and a tonnage rate of $2.50 per
ton. 2 Naturally these exactions displeased both the
traders and the consumers of foreign goods; but they
sought relief, not in written petitions, but in various
smuggling expedients, in which they were rarely
detected, and which therefore for this year at least
find no place in the records.
For Monterey, the chief port of entry, I have no
revenue statistics for the year. At Santa Barbara,
where accounts are complete, the revenue from customs
was $7,446. 3 At San Francisco the recorded amount
2 June 28th, Herrera to habilitados of S. Francisco, Sta Barbara, and S.
Diego, closing those ports. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 16.
July 5th, Id., insisting on internacion duty according to decree of Aug. G,
1824. St. Pap., Ben., MS., i. G7-8. July 11th, Id. to gov., insisting on the
reformation of abuses, though said abuses were necessary. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 42-7. July 22d, Id. to habilitados. Counter-
mands order of June 28th until govt decides, but not that of July 5th. Id.,
i. 51-2. Beechey, Voyage, ii. 10, G9, refers to the excessive duties. Jan.
24th, revised tariff of prices for products. St. Pap., Sac., MS., x. 90-1. May
10th, decree of Mex. govt. All exports free of duty. Sup. Govt St. Pap.,
MS., xix. 38. Sept. 26th, import duties as given in the text. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. MIL, MS., lx. 2. July 17th, habilitadoof Sta Barbara understands that
by the decree of Feb. 12, 1825, internacion duty is payable only on goods
taken from the custom-house for other ports, foreign vessels having to pay
only the 25 per cent and Mexican the 15 per cent of import duties. Dept. St.
Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 48.
3 Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 65. Partial statistics for
each vessel are given in the list at the end of this chapter.
118 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
was $4,360;* and at San Diego, $1,666. If the total
of $13,500 were doubled, it is evident that the
amount would be but a small part of the percentage
due on imports. Only a few years later there were
complaints that no accounts had been rendered by
Herrera and his successors, 5 so that it is not strange
I have been unable to find complete figures.
All seems to have been couleur de rose in Hartnell's
business this year. Echeandia granted a general
license for his vessels to touch at all the ports. Mc-
Cullough from Callao, and the Brothertons from
Liverpool, wrote most enthusiastically of the prospects
for high prices, urging extraordinary efforts to buy
more hides and tallow, and expressing fears only of
rivalry from other firms, while four brigs, the Inca,
Speedy, Eliza, and Pizarro, were successfully loaded
with Californian produce. 6 Gale's Sachem and the
other Boston ships must have interfered seriously
with Hartnell's purchases, but we have no information
beyond their names and presence on the coast. Juan
Ignacio Mancisiclor also did a large business 2 selling
the cargoes of the Nowlcvn and Olive Branch, and
taking away large quantities of mission produce,
though for him, as a Spaniard, trouble was in store.
The Waverly and her two consorts introduced the
Hawaiian flag to Californian waters, opened a new
branch of territorial trade, and brought to the country
William G. Dana, with others afterward prominent
among resident traders.
4 Habilitados' accounts in Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. passim; Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Mil., MS., lx. 1-4.
5 Figueroa to Mex. govt in 1834. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 209-10.
6 Echcandia's permit of June 18 and Aug. 26, 1826, to Hartnell's vessels.
Dept. Bee., MS., iv. 48; Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxix. 57. Letters of McCulloch,
Begg & Co., Brothertons, for the year, in Id., MS., xxix. nos. 4, 6, 12-15,
21, 40, 43, 52, 65. Some beef was accep table where hides and tallow were
not forthcoming. The Eliza appears to have cleared at Callao for Costa Bica
to deceive rivals. The Esther, sent to England with hides, had not been
heard of. The tallow from each mission must be marked 'so that the peculiar
tricks of each padre may be found out. ' Cash is sent and more promised.
Anderson's competition in Peru was especially feared. War between Buenos
Aires and Brazil made prospects better. Yet P. Uria, from Soledad, protests
on June 11th against being obliged to sell exclusively to Hartnell, and will in
future accept the best offers.
CAPTAIN COOPER'S VOYAGES. 119
Captain Cooper, in the Rover, came back from China
in April 1826. The voyage had been made under a
contract of 1824 with the government, 7 which had
entitled the schooner to $10,000 for freight out and
back, and the privilege of introducing $10,000 in
goods free of duties. Besides some trading done by
Cooper on his own account, he sold at Canton 375
otter skins for $7,000, investing the proceeds in
effects for the Californian troops. Most of these
effects were delivered after some delay to the habili-
tado of San Diego. The delay, and much subsequent
trouble, was caused by dissatisfaction on the part of
the governor at the prices received and paid in China,
and by personal difficulties in settling their accounts
between Cooper and Luis Arguello, as master and
owner of the vessel. 8 This last phase of the quarrel
lasted until 1829, involving a lawsuit and various refer-
ences to arbitrators. Arguello's side of the quarrel is
not represented in the records ; Cooper's letters are nu-
merous, containing a great variety of uncomplimentary
epithets for Don Luis. Arbitrators seem to have
decided the case in Cooper's favor in the amount of
$5,000, "which," writes the captain, "the damned rascal
Arguello will never pay while California remains in its
present condition." 9 To return to the Rover: the only
incident of her voyage that is known was the throwing
away of all Spanish papers on board, including invoices
and the bill of sale to Arguello, and even of the Mexican
flag, on account of revelations by a drunken sailor to
the effect that the schooner was not American as
pretended, but Mexican. This occurred at the Phil-
7 See vol. ii. p. 520.
8 Arrival of the Rover, and trouble about the landing of the cargo. Dept.
St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxvii. 68; Id., Ben. Cud.-H., i. 18-20, 30; St.
Pap., Ben., MS., i. 71; St. Pap., Sac, MS., xi. 1.
9 Cooper's letters of 1826-9, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix., nos. 54, 113, 108,
117, 128, 200, 210, 234, 235, 292, 334, 387, with many more in the same
volume, relating to details of C.'s business in those years, being of no special
importance. It appears that Kierolf & Co. , in China, had sent some goods by
C. to Cal. on sale, and that by reason of his troubles with Arguello, he was
unable to settle with that firm for several years. J. P. Sturgis was Coopers
correspondent at Canton.
120 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
ippine Islands. 10 On December 17, 1826, she sailed
for San Diego, in quest of documents by which she
might raise the Mexican flag. Jose Cardenas was to
be master. 11 Nothing more is known of the San
Rafael, as it was proposed to call her, from contem-
porary documents; but two Californians tell us that
she was sent with a cargo to San Bias, and not allowed
to return by the Mexican authorities, who did not
like the idea of California having a vessel of her own. 12
The visit of Captain Frederick William Beechey,
B. N., in H. M. S. Blossom, deserves notice as a prom-
inent event, by reason of the books to the publication
of which it gave rise, and the information they con-
tained about California. 13 Beechey had sailed from Eng-
land in May 1825, despatched to Bering Strait, there
to await the arrival of Franklin and Parry of the arc-
tic expeditions. 14 Sailing by Cape Horn, Valparaiso,
10 Cooper's deposition of Dec. 23th, in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxiii.
9. The loss of the papers complicated the quarrel with Arguello. July 27th,
gov. ordered the sale of the vessel to Arguello, and the manner of her nation-
alization to be investigated. St. Pap., Sac, MS., xii. 14.
11 Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cust.-H., MS., i. 25.
12 Fernandez, Cosas de Cal., MS., 37-9; Alvarado, Hist. Cat, MS., ii. 84-6.
13 Beechey, Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Strait, to Co-
operate with the Polar Expeditions, performed in His Majesty's Ship Blossom,
under the command of Captain F. W. Beechey, R. N, F. R.S., etc., in the years
1S25, 26, 27, 28. Published by authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Ad-
miralty. A new Edition. London, 1831. 8vo, 2 volumes, maps and plates.
This edition is not mentioned by Sabin, being published by Colburnanu Bent-
ley. The original in 4to form, 2 vols., had the same title, date, and pub-
lishers. There were published in 1832, according to Sabin, an American edi-
tion and a German translation. In the edition used by me the California
matter is found in vol. i. p. 471-2; vol. ii. p. 1-88, 319-21, 403; with descrip-
tions of S. Francisco and Monterey harbors on p. 422-9; and observations of
latitude and longitude on p. 443. Only one plate relates to California, that
of ' Calif ornian throwing the lasso.' In Huish, A Narrative of the Voyages and
Travels of C apt. Beechey, etc., London, 1836, the California matter is given on
p. 415-60, somewhat condensed, and a portrait of Beechey forms the frontis-
piece. Hooker snidArnott, The Botany of Captain Beechey' 's Voyage; compris-
ing an account of the plants collected by Messrs. Lay and Collie, etc. London,
1841. 4to, plates. The matter is arranged geographically in order of the coun-
tries visited; and California occupies p. 134-65, with one plate so far as Bee-
chey's voyage is concerned; but on p. 315-409 is given a more important Cal-
ifornia Supplement, made up chiefly of a description of specimens collected by
Douglas later, with 23 plates. Richardson and others, The Zoology of 'Captain
Beechey 's Voyage; compiled from the collections and notes made by Captain Bee-
chey, t/teofficera and naturalist, etc. London, 1839. 4to. The matter on Cal-
ifornia is scattered through the volume. The plates are splendidly colored.
From p. 160 there is a chapter on geology, which contains a 'geological plan'
and description of the port of S. Francisco, which I copy elsewhere.
11 The Blossom mounted 16 guns. The chief officers under Beechey were:
BEECHEY'S VISIT AND BOOK. 121
and the Hawaiian Islands, he arrived in Kotzebue
Sound in July 1826, remaining in the far north until
October, when he was obliged by the closing-in of
winter and by want of supplies to sail for the south.
He anchored at San Francisco November 6th, 15 and
was hospitably received by Comandante Martinez and
Padre Tomas Estenega. Supplies were, however, less
plentiful than had been expected, and a party consist-
ing of Collie, Marsh, and Evans was sent overland to
Monterey. This party was absent from the 9th to
the 17th, 16 during which time and subsequently Bee-
chey and his men were occupied in making a survey
of San Francisco Bay and scientific observations about
its shores. No obstacles were thrown in his way, the
authorities asking only for a copy of the resulting
chart, which was given. 17 The Englishmen amused
themselves chiefly by excursions on horseback over
the peninsula, and especially from the presidio to the
mission, the inhabitants gaining an extraordinary rev-
enue from the hire and sale of horses. The navigators
also visited Mission San Jose late in November. One
man was drowned and buried at San Francisco.
"By Christmas day we had all remained sufficiently
long in the harbor to contemplate our departure with-
out regret; the eye had become familiar to the pic-
turesque scenery of the bay, the pleasure of the chase
lieutenants Geo. Peard, Edward Belcher, and John Wainwright; master,
Thomas Elson; surgeon and assistant, Alex. Collie and Thomas Neilson; purser,
Geo. Marsh; mates, Win. Smyth and Jas. Wolfe; midshipmen, John Kendall
and Richard B. Beechey; clerks, John Evans and Chas. H. Osmer. The
whole force was 100 men.
15 Announcement of arrival dated Nov. 7th, in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cust.-
II. , MS., i. 24.
16 Collie's party, with an escort of Californian soldiers, travelled by way of
Sierra de S. Bruno, Rio de S. Bruno, Burri Burri, over the plain of Las Sal-
inas, with Estrecho de S. Jose" on the left, and Sierra del Suron right, S. Ma-
teo, Las Pulgas, Santa Clara, S. Jose, Ojo del Coche (?), plain of Las Llagas,
Rancho de Las Animas, Rio de Pajaro, plain of S. Juan, S. Juan Bautista,
Llano del Rey, Rancho Las Salinas, Monterey, and returned by the same
route. They were kindly treated by Capt. Gonzalez and Mr Hartnell. The
diary of this trip furnished Beechey a large part of the information published
about California.
17 Jan. 25, 1S27, gov. to Martinez. Presumes that Beechey laid before
him the necessary permit of the sup. govt to make a plan of the harbor. Or-
ders him to forward the plan toS. Diego. Dept. Ilee., MS., v. 13.
122 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
had lost its fascination, and the roads to the mission
and presidio were grown tedious and insipid. There
was no society to enliven the hours, no incidents to
vary one day from the other, and, to use the expres-
sion of Donna Gonzalez, California appeared to be as
much out of the world as Kamchatka." The Eng-
lishmen sailed on December 28th for Monterey. Here
they remained live days, cutting spars, and obtaining
supplies from missions and from vessels in port,
largely by the aid of Hartnell. 18 The supplies obtain-
able in California were, however, inadequate to the
needs of the expedition; and on the 5th of January
the Blossom sailed for the Sandwich Islands. After
another trip to the Arctic, unsuccessful like the first,
so far as meeting the ill-fated Franklin was con-
cernecl, Beechey returned to Monterey October 29,
1 827, 19 remaining until December 17th, when lie went
ai^ain to San Francisco for water, finallv sailing on
January 3d for San Bias, and thence home via Cape
Horn and Brazil, reaching England in October 1828.
It is thus seen that Beechey's visit was in itself an
event of slight importance ; but the observations pub-
lished in the voyager's narrative were perhaps more
evenly accurate and satisfactory than those of any
preceding navigator. Beechey and his companions
confined their remarks closely to actual observations.
They were less ambitious than some of their prede-
cessors to talk of things they did not understand, and
thus avoided ridiculous blunders. It is not, however,
necessary to notice their remarks at length here, for
the following reasons: A large part is naturally de-
voted to local and personal matters, or to other topics
treated in other chapters; notes of the scientific corps
18 Jan. 4, 1S27, Beechey writes from Monterey to the British consul in
Mexico, recommending the appointment of Hartnell as vice-consul in Cal., in
consequence of the increasing importance of English trade on the Pacific
coast. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 102.
1J Notice of presence of the Blossom and 3 "whalers on the coast in Novem-
ber. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 108. Called the Blondes, at Monterey Nov.
8th. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 47. Mention of visit in Soidc's Annals of S. F.,
1G3-4.
BEECHEY'S OBSERVATIONS. 123
on botany, zoology, and other branches, though of
great value, can of course receive in a work like this
no further attention than mere mention; 20 and what
remains of general description, respecting the country
and its institutions, on account of its very accuracy,
would be but vain repetition here. Had the visitor
been less careful and made more blunders, he would
receive more attention from me. Such is fame, and
the reward of painstaking.
The missions and the Indians claimed a large share
of Beechey's attention, as in the case of earlier visit-
ors, and he was not blind to either the faults or ex-
cellences of the system or of the friars who had it in
charge. 21 Respecting the result of Echeandia's ex-
periment at partial emancipation of neophytes, this
author happens to be wellnigh the only authority;
and he also translates an interesting diary of an ex-
pedition against the gentiles under Alferez Sanchez,
as noted in the preceding chapter. He gives consid-
20 See note 13 of this chapter.
n ' Though the system they pursue is not calculated to raise the colony to
any great prosperity, yet the neglect of the missions would not long precede
the ruin of the presidios and of the whole of the district.' Vol. ii. p. 15.
' As to the various methods employed for the purpose of bringing proselytes
to the missions, there are several reports, of which some were not very cred-
itable to the institution; nevertheless, on the whole, I am of opinion that the
priests are innocent, from a conviction that they are ignorant of the means
employed by those who are under them. Whatever may be the system, . . .
the change according to our ideas of happiness would seem advantageous to
them, as they lead a far better life in the missions than in their forests.' p. 17.
' The produce of the land and of the labor of the Indians is appropriated
to the support of the mission, and the overplus to amass a fund which is
entirely at the disposal of the padres. In some of the establishments this
must be very large, although the padres will not admit it, and always plead
poverty. The government has lately demanded a part of this profit, but the
priests, who, it is said, think the Indians are more entitled to it than the
government, make small donations to them, and thus evade the tax by tak-
ing care there shall be no overplus.' p. 19-20. 'Though there may be occa-
sional acts of tyranny, yet the general character of the padres is kind and
benevolent, and in some missions the converts are so much attached to them
that I have heard them declare they would go with them if they were
obliged to quit the country. It is greatly to be regretted that, with the
influence these men have over their pupils, and the regard those pupils seem
to have for their masters, the priests do not interest themselves a little more
in the education of their converts.' 'The Indians are, in general, well clothed
and fed.' p. 21-2. ' Nothing could exceed the kindness and consideration of
these excellent men to their guests and to travellers;' but they 'were very
bigoted men, and invariably introduced the subject of religion.' p. 33-4.
124 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
erable attention to commerce, presenting a clear state-
ment on this subject. 22 Like others, the English
navigator was enthusiastic in praise of California's cli-
mate and other natural advantages; but like others,
he wondered at and deplored the prevalent lack of
enterprise on the part of Mexican government and
Californian people, predicting an inevitable change of
owners should no change of policy occur. 23 His geo-
22 1 may quote at some length on this topic, as being the subject proper of
this chapter. ' The trade consists in the exportation of hides, tallow, man-
teca, horses to the Sandwich Islands, grain for the Russian establishments,
and in the disposal of provisions to whale-ships,. . .and perhaps a few furs
and dollars are sent to China. The importations are dry goods, furniture,
wearing apparel, agricultural implements, deal boards, and salt; and silk's
and fireworks from China for the decoration of churches and celebration of
saints' days. In 1827 almost all these articles bore high prices: the for-
mer in consequence of the increased demand; and the latter partly from the
necessity of meeting the expenses of the purchase of a return cargo, and
partly on account of the navigation.' Great complaint of high prices, 'not
considering that the fault was in great measure their own, and that they were
purchasing some articles brought several thousand miles, when they might
have procured them in their own country with moderate labor only,' for ex-
ample, salt and deal boards and carts. ' With similar disregard for their
interests, they were purchasing sea-otter skins at $20 apiece, whilst the
animals were swimming about unmolested in their own harbors; and this
from the Russians, who are intruders on their coast, and are depriving them
of a lucrative trade. With this want of commercial enterprise, they are not
much entitled to commiseration. With more justice might they have com-
plained of the navigation laws, which, though no doubt beneficial to inhab-
itants on the eastern coast of Mexico, where there are vessels to conduct the
coasting trade, are extremely disadvantageous to the Californians, who hav-
ing no vessels are often obliged to pay the duties on goods introduced in for-
eign bottoms.' 17% higher than on Mexican vessels. Not only this, 'but
as a foreign vessel cannot break stowage without landing the whole of her
cargo, they must in addition incur the expenses attending that which will
in general fall upon a few goods only. The imprudent nature of these laws
as regards California appears to have been considered by the authorities, as
they overlook the introduction of goods into the towns by indirect channels,
except in cases of a gross and palpable nature. In this manner several
American vessels have contrived to dispose of their cargoes, and the inhab-
itants have been supplied with goods of which they were much in need.' p.
68-70.
23 ' Possessing all these advantages, an industrious population alone seems
requisite to withdraw it from the obscurity in which it has so long slept
under the indolence of the people and the jealous policy of the Spanish gov-
ernment. Indeed, it struck us as lamentable to see such an extent of habit-
able country lying almost desolate and useless to mankind, whilst other na-
tions are groaning under the burden of their population. It is evident from
the natural course of events, and from the rapidity with which observation
has recently been extended to the hitherto most obscure parts of the globe,
that this indifference cannot continue; for either it must disappear under the
present authorities, or the country will fall into other hands, as from its sit-
uation with regard to other powers upon the new continent, and to the com-
merce of the Pacific, it is of too much importance to be permitted to remain
longer in its present neglected state. Already have the Russians encroached
VESSELS OF 1827. 125
graphical information is usually accurate and valuable;
but a curious item is the idea, drawn from the Califor-
nians, that the great rivers running into San Fran-
cisco bay were three in number — -the Jesus Maria,
passing at the back of Bodega in a southerly course
from beyond Cape Mendocino; the Sacramento, trend-
ing to the south-west, and said to rise in the Rocky
Mountains near the source of the Columbia; and the
San Joachin, stretching from the southward through
the country of the Bolbones.
The vessels of 1827 numbered thirty-three, of
which two or three arrivals depend on doubtful rec-
ords. Fourteen were the same that had visited Cali-
fornia the preceding year, some having wintered on
the coast. Only four were whalers. The trading
fleet proper was of about twenty craft. Of the whole
number twelve were American, ten English, three
Mexican, three Russian, two each French and Ha-
waiian, and one perhaps German. 24 Revenue receipts
from fragmentary records, which are virtually no
records at all, foot up about $14,000 for the year. 25
As the reader will remember, it was in this year that
Herrera resigned, and the revenue branches were, if
possible, in worse confusion than ever.
An attempt was made to remove some of the re-
strictions on the importation of foreign goods, deemed
disadvantageous to Californian interests. The re-
forms desired were the free entry of foreign vessels
into all the ports and embarcaderos, the subdivision
upon the territory by possessing themselves of the Farallones and some isl-
ands of Santa Barbara; and their new settlement at Rossi is so near upon the
boundary (no Englishman could admit it to be within California — author) a3
to be the cause of much jealous feeling — not without reason, it would appear.'
p. 6G-7.
24 See list at end of this chapter. Vessels of 1827: Andes (?), Baikal, Blossom,
Cadboro, Carirnacer (?), Comete, Courier, Favorite, Franklin, Fulham, Golov-
nin, Harbinger, H6ros, Huascar, Isabella, Magdalena, Maria Ester, Massa-
chusetts, Oliphant (?), Olive Branch, Okhotsk, Orion, Paraiso, Sachem, Solitude,
Spy, Tamaahmaah, Tenieya, Thomas Nowlan, T omasa, Washington, Wavcrly,
Young Tartar.
^ Net revenue at S. F., $3,304. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., lxii. 8-11. See
also figures in the list of vessels at end of this chapter.
126 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
of cargoes for convenience of sale and transportation,
and the reduction of duties to at most the original
twenty-five per cent by the removal of the internacion
and averia taxes, and even the tonnage dues. The
two first had already been accomplished practically,
since the authorities admitted that they had rarely
refused permission to engage in coast trade; and as
to the third, both governor and comisario were op-
posed to the high rates, and had been as careless as
they dared, and their subordinates even less careful.
The diputacion considered the matter in June and
July, and by the decision of that body and the re-
sulting decrees, coast trade was legalized, subject to
,the decision of the supreme government. The re-
moval of the duties was recommended, the internacion
tax was restricted to goods carried inland more than
four leagues, while the missions were allowed to give
bonds for the tax pending the result in Mexico. 26
26 Jan. 22, and Aug. 6, 1827, Herrera regulates the details of trade between
private persons and foreign vessels, to prevent abuses of the illegal privileges
allowed of coast trade and division of cargoes. Dept. St. Pap. , Ben. Com. and
Treas., MS., i. 82-6. June 23d, July 24th, sessions of the diputacion. Ban-
dini took a leading part in urging the reforms. Leg. Bee., MS., i. 52-4, 64-
72. July 20th, gov. announces that foreign vessels may touch at Sta Cruz,
S. Luis, Purisima, Refugio, and S. Juan, by applying to the nearest coman-
dante with a statement from the missionary that such visit is necessary. Dept.
Bee., MS., v. 68; Dept. St. Pap., MS., i. 144. Aug. 10th, com. of Sta Bar-
bara on same subject. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lvii. 12-13. Aug. 7th,
Herrera announces the change respecting the internacion duty. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 86-7. Aug. 22d, gov. to sup. govt, an-
nouncing the act of the dip. ; also asking for one or two gunboats and
for a naval station at S. Francisco. Dept. Bee., MS., v. 128-9. June 1st,
min. of war to E., announcing the president's permission for foreign vessels
to touch at the way-ports already named in this note and in the text. Dept.
Bee., MS., vi. 176. Vallejo, Esposicion, 6, cites in 1837 a law of Nov. 16, 1827,
forbidding comercio de escala by foreign vessels. The tariff law of Nov. 16th,
Mexico, Arancel Gen., 1827, p. 5, allowed foreign goods to be introduced into
Cal. for three fifths the duties required elsewhere except in Yucatan; but if
reexported, the other two fifths must be paid. Miscellaneous items on com-
merce for 1827: Rates of duties — import, 25% on value; averia, 2\% on do.;
internacion, 15% on do.; tonnage, $2.50 per ton (Mexican measurement); an-
chorage, $10 per vessel; collectors' compensation, 3%. Dept. St. Pap., Ben.
Mil., MS., lxii. 5-10. Jan., national products free from export duty, ex-
cept gold and silver. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 71.
Jan. 31st, gov. says Sandwich-Island traders may touch at ports; but not
war-vessels, until it be proved that they sail under a proper flag and due
authority. Dept. Bee., MS., v. 19. July 20th, Capt. Guerra says the
Mexicans in Cal. will probably abandon trade to the foreigners, who spec-
ulate in everything, and with whom they cannot compete. Doe. Hist. Cal. t
HARTNELL AND COMPANY. 127
Meanwhile there came an order from Mexico, dated
before the action of the diputacion, and permitting
foreign vessels to touch at Santa Cruz, San Luis
Obispo, Purisima, Refugio, and San Juan Capistrano.
In its deliberations on revenue matters, the diputacion
gave special attention to the duties on liquors, per-
fecting an elaborate reglamento, which was duly pub-
lished by the governor. The proceeds of the liquor
trade were devoted to the public schools. 27 Another
prominent commercial topic, since hides and tallow
were the chief articles of export, was that of live-
stock regulations, to which the diputacion also directed
its wisdom. The result was a series of twenty ar-
ticles, in which the branding and slaughter of cattle,
with other kindred points, were somewhat minutely
regulated. 28
The prosperity of 1826 in the business of Hartnell
& Co. was followed by trouble and financial embar-
rassment in 1827-9. The exact nature of the reverses
it is difficult to learn from the fragmentary correspond-
ence; but I judge that John Begg & Co. failed, in-
volving McCulloch, Hartnell & Co. to such an ex-
tent that the firm was obliged to delay its payments
and to close the copartnership. Hartnell, however,
paid all debts in California, and continued his business
both for himself, with the aid of Captain Guerra, and
as agent for foreign houses who sent vessels to the
MS., iv. 84. Grain raised only for home consumption, also wool; horse-hair
somewhat sought by the French; padres unwilling to take money; exports
amount to what 4 vessels of 300 tons can carry; 47% profit may be counted
on; the export of tallow averages 1 arroba for each hide. Duhaut-Cilly, Viag-
gio, i. 232-3, 253; ii. 145-7, 150.
27 Reglamento de Contribuciones sobre Licores, 1827, MS. , approved at sessions
of June 26th, 28th, 30th, July 2d, 7th. Gov.'s decree of July 12th, in Dept. St.
Pap., 8. Jost, MS., iv. 40-7. The tax was $5 per barrel of 160 quarts for
brandy and $2.50 for wine in Monterey and S. Francisco jurisdictions; in the
south $10 and $5 respectively, payable by all buyers and by the producer who
might retail the liquor. This for native liquors. Foreign brandy and wine,
paid $20 and $10 per barrel. The regulations for the collection of this tax
are somewhat complicated, and need not be given. Aug. 6th, Herrera an-
nounces that by superior orders a duty of 80% on foreign liquors and 70%
on wines is to be exacted, besides the 15% of internacion. De.pt. St. Pap.,
Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 87-8.
28 lleglamento sobre Ganados, aprobado por la Diputacion, 1S27, MS.
128 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
coast. The correspondence would indicate that he
went on loading vessels and trading with the padres
much as before. David Spence also went into busi-
ness for himself. In connection with the financial
troubles, Hartnell made a trip to Lima, sailing at the
end of 1827, probably in the Huascar, and returning
in that vessel in July of the following year.' 29
Captain Cunningham of the Courier, in conjunction
probably with the masters of other American vessels,
thought to improve the facilities for coast trade by
erecting certain buildings and establishing a kind of
trading station on Santa Catalina Island. Cunning-
ham was ordered by Echeandia to remove the build-
ings and promised to do so. 30
Auguste Duhaut-Cilly, commanding the French
ship Le Ileros, 362 tons, 32 men, and 12 guns, sailed
from Havre in April 1826, sent out by Lafitte & Co.
on a trading voyage round the world. He was accom-
panied by Dr Paolo Emilio Botta, afterward famous
as an archaeologist and writer. This young scientist's
notes on the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands and
29 Mrs Hartnell, Narratlva, MS., 2-3, says that the rivalry of Cooper,
favored by the government, and of Spence soon obliged the firm of McC. , H.
& Co. to liquidate. Alvarado, Hist. Cal. , MS. , iv. 145, says that H. paid all the
debts of Begg & Co. in Cal. April, McCulloch advises H. to propose to Begg
& Co. a reform in the Cal. establishment, including a small vess<5l on the
coast under Mexican flag. Salting hides won't pay, nor will soap and candles.
Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 125. July 1st, P. Viader toH. Speaks of Begg's fail-
ure, which he has expected for some time. Id., 135. Fears for success of hide
business. Id. , 141. Aug. Oth, Begg & Co. say the prospect is bad. Men-
doza (?) tallow better and cheaper than that of Cal. Id., 148. Nov. 6th, P.
Sarria speaks of H.'s voyage, and sends letters of recommendation to friends
in Lima. Id., 1G7. Jan. 5, 1828, Spence at Monterey to H. at Lima. Id., 190.
May 1st, circular of Begg, Macala, and Hartnell to the padres of California,
announcing the dissolution of the firm of McC. , H. & Co. , and that H. will settle
all accounts and continue the business for himself. Warm thanks are rendered
for past courtesies, and H. is strongly recommended by the former associates.
Id., 224. July 14th, H. arrived by the Huascar. Hept. Sec., MS., vi. 80.
July lGth, Cunningham speaks of a protested bill. Vallejo, Hoc. , MS. , xix. 257.
McCulloch continues his letters to H. Aug. 1st, gov. regrets Begg's want of
confidence in Mexican commerce. Id. , 265. Aug. 28th, balance sheet of $5,097
between Begg & Co. and H. Id., 272. More accounts in October. Id., 282.
Oct. 18th, certificate that H. furnished 814,397 in tallow, as ho agreed in Lima.
Id. , 283. The correspondence of 1829 is unimportant, but shows that H. still
owed considerable money in Lima, and that his creditors were pressing. Id. ,
passim.
30 Dept. Etc., MS., v. 19; Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 22.
VISIT OF DUHAUT-CILLY. 129
California were added to an Italian translation of the
voyager's narrative, made by his father, Carlo Botta,
also famous as a poet and historian. Lieutenant Ed-
inond Le Netrel also wrote a journal, a large part of
which has been published. 31
On January 27, 1827, the Ueros, coming from
Mazatlan, anchored at Yerba Buena. It yet lacked
several months of the proper time for obtaining hides
and tallow, but the time could be employed in arrang-
ing -bargains with the padres; and while the captain
remained at the port his supercargo, 'il Signor B ,'
visited the missions of the district with samples of
goods to be sold. After a month's stay, marked by
adventures with grizzly bears and an earthquake, the
traders sailed south March 7th, carrying three Indian
prisoners condemned to confinement at San Diego.
Touching at Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Barbara,
and San Pedro, they reached San Diego April
18 th. Here the supercargo was left, while Duhaut-
Cilly made a trip to Mazatlan and back before June
11th. 'II Signor B ' proceeded northward to
San Francisco by land, while the captain, having ex-
perienced an earthquake, and made a tour to San Luis
Bey, anchored at Santa Barbara on the 29th, and at
San Francisco on July 17th. During this visit the
Frenchman made excursions to Santa Clara, San
Jose, and San Francisco Solano. In August they
31 Duhaid-C'dly, Voyage autour du monde, principalement a la Californie et
aux Isles Sandwich pendant les annces 1826, 1827, 1828, et 1829. Par A.
Duhaut-Cilly. Paris, 1835. 8vo. 428 p. plate. Of this original French edi-
tion I have only a fragment in my collection, and my references are therefore
to the following: Duhaut-Cilly, Viaggio intorno al Globo, principalmente alia
California ed alle isole Sandwich, negli anni 1826, 1827, 1828, e 1829, di A .
Duhaut-Cilly, capitano di lungo corso, cav. della Legion cVOnore, ecc. Con
Vaggiunta delle osservazioni sugli abitanti di quel paesi di Paolo Emilio Botta.
Traduzione dal francese nelV italianode Carlo Botta. Turin, 1841. 8vo. 2 vol.
xvi. 290 p. 11.; 392 p. plates. The portion added to this translation, Botta,
Osservazioni sugli abitanti delle isole Sandwich e della California de Paolo
Emilio Botta. Fatte nel suo viaggio intorno al globo col Capitano Duhaut-
Cilly, occupies p. 339-92 of vol. ii. ; that part relating to Cal. is found on p.
3G7-78. These notes had originally appeared as Botta, Observations sur les
habitans de la Californie, in Nouv. Annates des Voyages, lii. 15G-GG. Le Netrel,
Voyage autour du Monde, etc. Extrait du journal de M. Edmond Le Netrel,
Lieutenant a bord de cevaisseau (Lelleros), in Nouvelles Annates des Voyages,
xlv. 129-82.
IIist. Cal., Vol. III. 9
130 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
sailed for Santa Cruz and Monterey. Here Duhaut-
Cilly found the French ship Comete, which had come
over from the Islands, as he claims, at the instigation
of the mysterious and treacherous Signor B , and
to spoil the trade of the TIeros, which venture was a
failure, as the author is delighted to observe. In
September they were at Santa Barbara, having
anchored on the way at El Cojo to receive tallow
from Purisima. From San Pedro, about the 2 2d,
the captain, w T ith Botta and a guide, visited Los
Angeles and San Gabriel, to feel another earthquake.
October 20th, after having broken his collar-bone by
a fall from a California bronco, Duhaut-Ciliy sailed
again for Callao, again leaving il Signor B to con-
tinue his operations on board the Waverly. He came
back to Monterey May 3, 1828, made a visit to Bo-
dega and Boss in June, was at Santa Barbara and
San Pedro before the end of that month, revisited Los
Angeles and San Gabriel, and reached San Diego on
the 3d of July. Finally the Heros sailed August 27th
for the Islands. The Signor B had in the mean
time run away to Mexico.
From the preceding outline of the French trader's
movements, it is seen that his opportunities for ob-
servation were more extensive than those of any for-
eign visitor who had preceded him. No other navi-
gator had visited so many of the Californian estab-
lishments. His narrative fills about three hundred
pages devoted to California, and is one of the most
interesting ever written on the subject. Duhaut-Cilly
was an educated man, a close observer, and a good
writer. Few things respecting the country or its
people or its institutions escaped his notice. His
relations with the Californians, and especially the
friars, were always friendly, and he has nothing but
kind words for all. The treachery of his supercargo
caused his commercial venture to be less profitable
than the prospects had seemed to warrant. 82 I have
83 Morineau, Notice snr la Calif or nie^o\-% says that both the II6ros and
TRADING FLEET OF 1828. 131
had, and shall have, occasion to cite this author fre-
quently on local and other topics, and it is with regret
that I leave the book here without long quotations.
as
I find notice of thirty-six vessels on the coast in
the year 1828, sixteen of which were included in the
fleet of the preceding year, and several others had
visited California before. Six were whalers. 31 A
few meagre items of revenue amount to less than
$6,000 at San Francisco and $34,000 at San Diego.
In January Echeandfa issued an order closing the way-
ports, or embarcaderos, except San Pedro, to for-
eign vessels. 35 This was in accordance with orders
from Mexico, and was enforced so far as possible.
In July San Pedro was also closed by an order
which declared that all coasting trade must be done
in Mexican bottoms, that Monterey and Loreto were
the only ports open to foreign trade, but that in cases
of necessity trade might be permitted at the other
presiclial ports. 36 In September San Francisco and
Santa Barbara were closed provisionally; though ves-
the Comite brought cargoes, which, besides being too large, were ill-assorted
and did not sell well.
33 Mention of the H&ros in Dept. Rec. , MS, , vi. 32; Dept. St. Pap,, Ben. Mil. ,
MS., lxiii. 2; Id., Ben. Pre/, y Juzg., MS., i. 2. Taylor, in Brown's L. Cal.,
43, mentions this voyage.
34 See list at end of this chapter. Vessels of 1828: the Andes, Arab (un-
der a Russian name), Baikal, Becket (?), Brillante (?), Clio, Courier, Emily,
Fenix, Franklin, Fulham, Funchal, General Sucre, Griffon, Guibale (?), Har-
binger, Heros, Huascar, Karimoko, Kiahkta, Laperin (?),. Magdalena, Maria
Ester, Minerva, Okhotsk, Pocahontas, Rascow, Solitude, Telemachus, Thomas
Nowlan, Times, Verale^.), Vulture, Washington, Waverly, Wilmantic. I have
fragments of the Waverlij's original log for 1828-9. The author describes, p.
10, a celebration of St Nicholas day on the Russian vessels at Monterey Dec.
17th; also a fandango on shore. Peirce's Rough Sketch, MS., and Memoran-
dum, MS., describe the Griffon's voyage as remembered by the author, who
was on the vessel. Six vessels at S. F. in January are not named, but de-*
scribed by Morineau as a Russian frigate; a Russian brig of 200 tons loaded
with grain for Sitka; an English schooner from New Albion ; an American
brig of 150 tons from Manila; a Hawaiian brig of 140 tons manned by kana-
kas; and a Mexican schooner of 100 tons from Sandwich Islands. El Bri-
llante was at S. Diego from S. Bias, according to this author.
35 Jan. 29, 1828, St. Pap>.,Sac, MS., x. 104. March 3d, Echeandia to
com. gen. Has been obliged to keep open the four presidial ports and S.
Pedro. Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 7.
30 July 8, 1828, gov.'s order. Dept. Rec. t MS., vi. 63, 77; Dept. St. Pap., S.
Jos6, MS., iv. 53-4.
132 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
sels after discharging their cargoes at Monterey or
San Diego might visit the other ports to take away
produce, except money and breeding cattle, returning
to settle accounts. 37 I find no evidence, however, that
this order was obeyed this year. In the correspond-
ence on revenue the only item worth notice was the
reduction of the internacion tax to ten per cent, pre-
sumably in response to the petition of 1827. 33 The
Russians were permitted to take otter on a small scale
for joint account of the company and the govern-
ment, American vessels sought hides chiefly; those
from Mexico and Peru gave more attention to tallow,
while the Hawaiian buyers took away by preference
skins and horses. 39
The traders were not pleased at the restrictions
which the Californian authorities could not well help
enforcing to a certain extent; and they redoubled
their efforts at smuggling. In most cases they were
successful, not much to the displeasure of any one in
California, and without leaving any trace of their
movements in the records; but occasionally by their
insolent disregard of appearances even, they came into
conflict with Echeandia. Two such instances in par-
ticular are recorded, that of the Franklin and that of
37 Sept. 30, 1828, gov. 's order in Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 103-3; Dept. St. Pap.,
S. Jos4, MS., iv. 72-3. Nov. 26th, gov. permits foreign vessels, after dis-
charging their inward cargoes, to carry lumber from Monterey to Sta Barbara.
Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 145. Nov. 30th, E. to min. of war, asking that S. Diego
be opened formally and fully to foreign commerce. Id., vi. 52; Dept. St. Pap.,
MS., iii. 208.
38 March 20, 1828, com. gen. sends decree of congress reducing the duty to
8% (on the goods for which bonds had been given?) if paid within 15 days
after publication of this order. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i.
95. But in August Echeandia says the tax is 10%. Dept. Pec., MS., vi. 86.
Feb. 1st, woollen and silk of Mexican manufacture free of duties. Dept. St.
Pap., Mont., MS., i. 20. Goods still received as duties. Vallejo, Doc, MS.,
xvii. 9, et passim. Consignees must declare tonnage of vessels on presenting
manifest of cargo. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 93. June
20th, revenue from maritime duties belongs to the nation; taxes on retail
trade to the municipality. Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 58. Sept. 30th, tonnage
$2.12^ per ton. Id., vi. 103. Averia duties from July 1828 to June 1829,
$256. Me. rim, Mem. Hacienda, 1829, doc. 29. Duties were computed by
Martinez at S. Francisco, by taking three fifths of the value, and the tonnage
was reckoned at $2,12£ per ton, less two fifths, a deduction for which he was
blamed by the governor. Vail < jo, Doc, MS., i. 157, 162.
39 Speuce's hut. Notes, MS., 13.
THE SMUGGLERS. 133
the Karimoho. Captain John Bradshaw of the former
had been granted all possible privileges, his supercargo,
Bufus Perkins, being permitted to travel by land
from mission to mission; 40 but finally in July, at San
Diego, he was ordered to deposit his cargo in the
warehouse as security for duties, and pending the in-
vestigation of charges. He was accused of notorious
smuggling on the Lower Californian coast; 41 of having
illegally transferred the cargo of another vessel to his
own; of having touched at Santa Catalina in defiance
of special orders; .of having refused to show his in-
voices or make a declaration; and of insolence to the
governor. Bradshaw and Perkins, being on shore,
promised obedience to the order; but asked permission
to go on board to make the necessary preparations,
and when there refused to leave the vessel, laughed
in the face of the Californians sent to convey and
enforce — so far as possible by threats — Echeandia's
order, and on July 11th changed anchorage to a point
near the entrance of the harbor. The governor circu-
lated a warning to the padres and others to deliver no
goods to the Franklin should she escape, 42 as seemed
likely to happen, though Bradshaw still promised sub-
mission to legal proceedings. Meanwhile Echeandia
prepared to put a guard on the vessel, and applied to
Duhaut-Cilly for a boat. The French captain could
not refuse, but w T arned Bradshaw and interposed de-
lays. On the morning of the lGth the Franklin cut
her cable and ran out of the port, the officers and
crew shouting: their derision of the Mexican flag: as
they passed the fort. Forty cannon-balls were sent
after the flying craft, with no apparent effect; but
40 May 7, 1828. Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 200.
41 A warning had come from Loreto in May. Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 203. Du-
haut-Cilly, Viaggio, ii. 194-200, who was at S. Diego at this time, denounces
one Wm Simpson, a man whom Bradshaw had befriended, for having treacher-
ously exposed the Yankee captain's crimes. He says there was some trouble
about a deposit of cargo to secure duties, but that it would have been amica-
bly arranged but for Simpson's act.
42 July 12, 1828, gov. to comandantes, alcaldes, and padres. The Frank-
lin is to be detained, if possible, should she dare to enter any port. Dept. St.
Pap., MS., ii. 59-GO.
134 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
Duhaut-Cilly met her a little later at the Islands, and
learned that two balls had entered the hull, two had
damaged the riffffinff, and that Bradshaw had been
wounded. 43
The affair of the Hawaiian brig Karimoko occurred
also at San Diego late in the autumn. John Law-
lor, or Lawless, as it is often written, was master
of the vessel. He it was who, after having employed
Domingo Carrillo to teach him Spanish, presented
himself to Echeandia to ask for a passport in the
following terms: "Buenos dias, Senor General; mi
quiero to voy to the missions y comprar cueros y
grease con goods ; please mi dar permission. Si quieres,
quieres ; y si no, dejalo. Aclios, Senor General." 44
43 June 14th, 18th, July 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 23d, gov. 'a com-
munications on the subject. Dcpt. llec, MS., vi. 28, 32, 50, Gl, G3-8, 72-3. Du-
haut-Cilly, Viaggio, ii. 194-200. Further records dated in December respecting
the credits, etc., left behind by Bradshaw. Dcpt. llec, MS., vi. 53, 150-1, 102.
In 1841 a claim for damages was pending before the mixed commission in Wash-
ington. Vallejo, Doc, MS., x. 131. On this affair of the Franklin, as in several
other matters, the testimony of James O. Pattie, who was at S. Diego at the time,
has to be noticed separately, since his statements are of such a peculiar char-
acter that they can neither be omitted nor used with other evidence in build-
ing up my narrative. (See next chapter for notice of Pattie's book. ) Bradshaw
and Perkins were at S. Diego in March and April, and tried to aid Pattie,
partly as a countryman, and partly in the hope to get some furs which the
trappers had left on the Colorado. Bradshaw employed Pattie as a translator,
securing his occasional release for that purpose. In April or May he made a
trip in his vessel to Monterey. June 27th, his vessel was seized for smug-
gling. In the following examination of officers and crew Pattie served as in-
terpreter ('Dice el Americano James Ohio Pettis, que sirvio do interprcte
a dicho capitan, dice que supo tenia este el proposito do largarse furtivamenta
y de haccr fuego sobre la guarnieion si impedia su salida.' Dept. Iiec, MS.,
vi. 73), and was requested by Capt. B. 'to make the testimonies of his crew
as nearly correspond and substantiate each other as possible; for some of them
were angry with him, and would strive to give testimony calculated to con-
demn him. I assured him I would do anything to servo him that I could in
honor' ! The taking of depositions was completed July 2Sth (Bradshaw had
really sailed on July IGth). Capt. B. told Pattie of his intention to run out
if the vessel were condemned, and offered him a passage on the Franklin. In
September Bradshaw was ordered to land his cargo, but refused. Pattie was
again employed as interpreter; and warned the captain and supercargo on
Sept. 11th of a plan he had overheard to arrest them, thus enabling them to
escape on board. A few days later he slipped anchor and ran out of the port
under a heavy shower of cannon-balls from the fort. 'When he came oppo-
site it ho hove to and gave them a broadside in return, which frightened the
poor engineers away from their guns. His escape was made without suffering
any serious injury. Their ( three ? ) shots entered the hull of the vessel, and the
sails were considerably cut up by the grape.' Pattie's 2farr. t 179, 185, 189-
201.
41 Vallejo, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. G0-1. It is said to have been Lawlor's
practice to hide about seven eighths of his cargo at some out-of-the-way spot ou
LAWLOR'S ADVENTURES. 135
On this occasion he had anchored at San Pedro and
departed without paying §1,000 of duties. He had,
in spite of repeated warnings, touched at Santa Cata-
lina Island, and had even deposited goods there,
besides breeding animals, the exportation of which was
contra bando. The sails of the Karimoho were seized,
and then Lawlor was ordered to go with part of his
crew to bring over the island goods and live-stock,
which were to secure the payment of the duties in
arrears. He made all manner of excuses and pleas,
including the suggestion that he could not make the
trip without sails, and that his men on the island
would starve if not relieved soon. The Maria Ester
was employed to carry Santiago Argiiello as investi-
gating officer to Santa Catalina, and perhaps to bring
over the effects; at any rate, Lawlor got a document
in December certifying that all his duties had been
paid; but in January of the next year he was again
warned to quit the island of Santa Catalina within
twenty-four hours. 45
There were twenty-three vessels on the Californian
coast in 1829, besides four doubtful English craft in
Spence's list, eleven belonging to the fleet of 1828,
only six appearing for the first time in these waters,
and one being built in California. 46 Records of revenue
the coast or islands, and come to port with one eighth to get permission to
trade.
43 Oct. 28, Nov. 5, 1828, gov. to Argiiello. Dept. Rec., MS., vi. 121-2, 121.
Nov. 6th. Id. to Virmond, to charter the Maria Ester. Id., 129. Dec. 1st,
Id. to Lawlor. Id., 147. Dec. 13th (3d?), Id. to Id., ordering him to pay-
duties and break up the island establishment. Id., xix. 157. Dec. 5th, Id.
to Id., arguing the case, with substance of Lawlor's communication. It seems
that Lawlor pretended not to have been captain at the time of the S. Pedro
transaction. Id., vi. 149. Dec. 9th, receipt in full for duties. Id., 154. Jan.
8th, 1829, gov. warns Lawlor to quit the coast. Id., vii. 54.
46 Sec list at end of this chapter. The vessels of 1829 were the Alvins (?),
American (?), Andes, Ann (?), Baikal, Brookline, Dhaulle, Franklin, Funchal,
Indian (?), James Coleman (?), J6ven Angustlas, Kiahkta, Maria Ester, Ok-
hotsk, Planet, Rosalia, Sta Barbara, Susana (?), Tnmaahmaah, Thomas JSfow-
lan, Trident, Volunteer, Vulture, Warren, Washington, Waverbj, Wilmington;
also a Hawaiian schooner not named, Win Aralon master, at S. Pedro in
September. According to the Honolulu Friend, ii. 49-50, 4 vessels had ar-
rived from Cal. in 1827, 5 in 1828, but none in 1829; 2 in 1830.
13G MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
receipts are still more meagre than for preceding
years. 47 There was little or no change in commercial
regulations; but the governor showed a disposition to
enforce the orders of 1828 making Monterey and — ■
provisionally — -San Diego the only ports free to for-
eign vessels; and allowing such vessels to trade at the
other ports only by special license and under strict
precautions; that is, in a few instances a trader might
carry goods duly examined and listed at Monterey or
San Diego to other ports for sale by paying the ex-
pense of a guard to remain on board and watch each
transaction. 4S Something very like a custom-house
was therefore maintained at Monterey and San Diego,
each under a comisario subalterno, Osio and later
Jimeno Casarin at the capital, and Juan Bandini in
the south. 43 A treaty between Mexico and England,
by which English and Mexican vessels were put upon
terms of equality in respect of duties, was forwarded
from San Bias in July; but I find no evidence that
the document had any effect in California. 50
47 Custom-house records seem to make the total receipts at S. Diego
$117,207 for the year. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Oust.- /I., MS., i. passim. Total
revenue at S. Francisco to May 31st, $1,177; at San Diego, $2,000. In De-
cember for S. F., $1,204; for S. Diego in August, $820. Dept. St. Pap., Ben.
Mil., lxix. 27-9. Gale states in a letter to Cooper, of May 10th, that the
duties on the Brookline's cargo were $31,000, of which $20,000 have been paid.
Vallejo, Doc., xxix. 354.
48 Gov. 's instructions of various dates. Dept. Bee, MS., vii. 14, 81, 100-1,
110; Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 94-5. July 29th, min. of hacienda on the details
of clearing national vessels for the coasting trade. Vallejo, Doc. Hist. Col. ,
MS., i. 180.
^ St. Pap., Sac., MS., xix. 40-7. Rather strangely, Gen. Vallejo, not only
in his Hist. Col., but as early as 1S37, Exposicion, MS., 5-0; Doc. Hist. Cal.,
MS., iv. 299, represents the regular custom-house as having been established
at S. Diego, and not at Monterey; but there is abundant evidence to the con-
trary in contemporary documents. April 4, 1829, sup. govt allows state
authorities to appoint customs visitadores at $4.50 per day on federal account.
Arrillaga, Recop., 1829, 50-7. July 29th, Mcx. custom-house regulations.
Id., 1833, 502-0. Sept. 29th, regulations on ships' manifests, etc. /(/., 1829,
245-9. Sept. 30th, decree ordering the establishment of a maritime custom-
house in Alta California, under a visitador, subject to the com. gen. de Occi-
dente. The president has appointed Hafael Gonzalez administrator; Jimeno
Casarin as contador; Francisco Pacheco, comandante of the guard; and Mau-
ri cio Gonzalez, guarda, at salaries of $1,000, $800, and $450. Id., 1829, 249-
51; DoblansLiid Lozano, Ley. Mex., ii. 175-G; Mexico, Mem. Ilac, 1 S3 1, annex
9, p. 48.
50 July 17, 1S29, Jose Maria Lista, S. Bias, to captain of the port of Mon-
terey. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 94.
GALE AND ROBINSON. 137
Most notable among the vessels of the year was
the Brookline, the successor of the Sachem, brought
out by Wm A. Gale for Bryant, Sturgis, & Co., of
Boston, and bringing probably the largest and best-
assorted cargo of miscellaneous goods that had ever
been offered to the Californians. Sailing from Boston
in July 1828, she arrived at Monterey in February
1829. Alfred Robinson, who published a narrative of
his voyage and life in California, in 1885 a resident of
San Francisco, and probably the oldest American pio-
neer of California at this date living, came in the Brook-
line as supercargo's clerk. Gale was disappointed at the
restrictions that had been imposed on foreign com-
merce since he left the coast, and which bade fair to
interfere with the success of his trip; but his wares,
and his prospective duties of $30,000, were a tempting
bait; and without much difficulty he concluded an
arrangement with Echeandia, by which he acquired
practically all the privileges of old, was allowed to
visit all the ports, and to pay his duties in goods. 51
Jose Estudillo .was put on board with two or three
soldiers, at Gale's expense, to watch proceedings, and
prevent irregularities at Santa Barbara, San Pedro,
and San Francisco. It would perhaps be uncharita-
ble to suggest, in the absence of proof, that these
employees may have served Gale more faithfully than
they did the revenue officers. 52 Gale was not satis-
fied w T ith the manner in which he was treated, form-
ing an unfavorable opinion of Echeandia's abilities and
honesty, and suspecting favoritism toward his business
51 Robinson' 's Statement, MS., 2-6, in which the writer gives many interest-
ing items about the methods of trade in those days. Robinson's Life in Cali-
fornia, 7-14, where the author speaks of the affair of the Franklin as having
complicated matters by exasperating the authorities. Mention of arrival and
movements of the Brookline, permission to trade, etc., in Dept. Rec., MS., vii.
100, 116, 158, 191; Vallejo, Z>oc.,MS.,i. 176; xxix. 316; Dept. St. Pap., Ben.
Pre/, y Jazg., MS., i. 22; Waverly, Voy., MS.
52 April 28, 1829, Echeandia's instructions to Estudillo and the guard. All
trading was to be done on board. Estudillo, Doc., MS., i. 240; Dept. Rec,
vii. 138-9. July 13th, E. to com. of Monterey, on the privileges granted to
Gale and the precautions taken. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 93-6. Sept. 12th,
Gale allowed to cut wood. Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxix. 412. Mar. 28th, Gale
announces the plan to Cooper. Id., 336.
138 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
rival, Hartnell; yet he seems to have clone this year
and the next a larger business than any other trader. 53
An interesting circumstance connected with the
Brooldine s visit was tho raising of an American flag
at San Diego, noticed in the newspapers on the au-
thority of Captain James P. Arther. 54 He had visited
California before in the Harbinger, was mate of the
Brooldine, and, like George W. Greene, one of his
companions, was still living in Massachusetts in 1872.
"Arthur and his little party were sent ashore at San
Diego to cure hides. They had a barn-like structure
of wood, provided by the ship's carpenter, which an-
swered the purposes of storehouse, curing-shop, and
residence. The life was lonesome enough. Upon
the wide expanse of the Pacific they occasionally dis-
cerned a distant ship. Sometimes a vessel sailed
near the lower offing. It was thus that the idea of
preparing and raising a flag, for the purpose of at-
tracting attention, occurred to them. The flasr was
manufactured from some shirts, and Captain Arthur
writes, with the just accuracy of a historian, that Mr
Greene's calico shirt furnished the blue, while he fur-
nished the red and white. 'It was completed and
53 Gale's letters, chiefly to Cooper, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 325, 331,
336, 353, 354, 383, 400, 412, 434, 444. Feb. 22d, will begin to kill bullocks
to-morrow. Wishes Cooper to see Holmes and learn the particulars of the
Franklin affair. March 15th, comisario entrapped him into paying $800 ton-
nage. The governor's license to trade is 'opening the door just enough to
catch my fingers and jamb them.' March 28th, wishes his intention to
remain trading on the coast to be made public. May 8th, speaks of Hartnell's
protested bills. May 10th, is doing a good business. The whalers by smug-
gling injure legitimate trade. S. Diego is the 'centre of hell for strangers;'
suspects underhand work in his duties. Will bring no more American cottons
to Cal. Is not allowed to touch at Sta Catalina, and is drinking Monterey
water. Complains of Echeandia. July 19th, hopes Cooper will not lose his
head in the revolution. Sept. 12th, trade dull. Oct. Gth, will despatch the
Brooldine sooner than he anticipated. Will pay $25 for large otter skins.
Oct. 31st, can undersell Hartnell, even if he can pay duties in his own way.
The Franklin business will do harm. Speaks of H.'s protested bills. Doc3
not believe H. honorable enough to pay, or that justice can be got under the
present imbecile government. His suspicions of underhand work in appraise-
ment arc confirmed. Has raised the anchor left by the Franklin, but had to
give it up to prevent trouble. Hopes a new gov. will come soon.
51 Capt. Arther in a note dated South Braintree, Mass., Sept. 24, 1872, in
which he regrets his inability to write his recollections of the affair, encloses
a clipping from the Boston Advertiser of Jan. 8th. See also mention in S. F.
Call, July 8, 1877.
LANG THE SMUGGLER. 139
raised on a Sunday, on the occasion of the arrival of
the schooner Washington, Captain Thompson, of the
Sandwich Islands, but sailing under the American
flag.' So writes honest Captain Arthur. He further
states that the same flag was afterwards frequently
raised at Santa Barbara, whenever in fact there was
a vessel coming into port. These men raised our
national ensign, not in bravado, nor for war and con-
quest, but as honest men, to show that they were
American citizens and wanted company. And while
the act cannot be regarded as in the li«fht of a claim
to sovereignty, it is still interesting as a fact, and as
an unconscious indication of manifest destiny." 55
Charles Lang, an American, with two sailors and
two kanakas, was found in a boat near Todos Santos
and arrested. He said he had come from the Sand-
wich Islands in the Alabama, with the intention of
settling somewhere in California. The captives were
brought to San Diego; and as Lang's effects, includ-
ing a barrel-organ and two trunks of dry goods,
seemed better adapted to smuggling than to coloniza-
tion, they were confiscated, 58 and sold in June. The
case went to Mexico, and afterward to the district
judge at Guaymas, with results that are not apparent.
Among the vessels named as making up the fleet
of 1829, there was one built at Santa Barbara, and
named the Santa Barbara. This was a schooner of
55 Boston Advertiser. It is well enough to regard this as the first raising
of the stars and stripes, in the absence of definite evidence to the contrary;
though such an event is by no means unlikely to have occurred before.
06 Feb. 1829, investigation by Lieut. Ibarra at Echcandia's order. Dept.
St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxix. 10-13, 25; liii. 90. The min. of war sent
the case back on June 13th to be referred to the Guaymas judge. June 1st,
Bandini ordered to sell the goods. Gov. says: ' After deducting the duties
and 10 % due me as judge, you will allow me one half as descubrldor and
promovedor, and one half of the rest as aprdiensor; the remainder you Mill
take for having assisted at the taking'! Dept. Rec, MS., vii. 1G9. Lang
seems to have gone to Mazatlan on the Washington. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix.
332. Lang was at S. Diego secretly on Dec. 24, 1S2S, where he met Pattie
the trapper, and told him of his smuggling and otter-hunting purposes. He
said he had a boat down the coast, and his brig had gone to the Galipagos
for tortoise-shell. Pattie concluded to join Lang, but on going down to
Todos Santos a few days later, found that he had been arrested. Pattie 's Narr.,
208-10.
140 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
thirty-three tons, built for Carlos Carrillo and Will-
iam G. Dana for the coasting trade and for otter-
catching. After certain delays and formalities, Echc-
andia granted the desired license for trade in August.
Jose Carrillo was to be the captain, and the crew
six men, more than half of whom must be Mexicans.
Little is known respecting the career of this early —
probably earliest — product of Californian ship-yards. 57
Here I may introduce the romantic episode of Henry
Fitch's marriage to a ' daughter of California,' a lady
still living in 1880. The young American sailor had
first arrived in 1826, and had soon surrendered to
the charms of Dona Josefa, daughter of Joaquin
Carrillo of San Diego, who in turn was won, as she
states in a narrative written fifty years later, 5S by the
handsome person and dashing manners of the captain.
In 1827 he gave her a written promise of marriage.
There were legal impediments on account of the fact
that Fitch was a foreigner; but the young lady's par-
ents approved the match, and a Dominican friar con-
sented to perform the ceremony. It was hoped there
would be no interference by either civil or ecclesias-
tical authorities, yet a degree of secrecy was observed.
57 May 8, 1829, Echeandia orders the construction stopped until a proper
permit is obtained. Dept. Itec., MS., vii. 1G6. May 29th, gives the permit.
Register must be obtained through the com. of Sta Barbara. Id., vii. 1G6.
Aug. 12th, grants license for trading for one year. Id., vii. 215— 1G. May
13th, E. had written to Mex. on the subject. Id., vii. 10. Michael White,
California, MS., p. 14-15, says that he built the schooner, with the aid of
his cousin Henry Paine, for Capt. Guerra in 1830, out of materials saved from
the wreck of the Danube; and that Thomas Robbins commanded her. After
finishing this vessel, they built another of 99 tons for S. Gabriel, named the
Guadalupe. A note in Bobbins' Diary, MS., mentions the building of the
Santa Barbara in 1830, for Carrillo and Dana at La Goleta, or Hill's Rancho.
The Danube appears not to have been wrecked until the spring of 1830, but
this is not quite certain. In Carrillo (J.), Doc., MS., 25, 27, 32, it is stated
that ' Jos6 el Americano ' (Chapman) was at work on a schooner for P.
Sanchez; of S. Gabriel in Sept. 1830; and that Guerra resolved to build
another from the wreck of the Danube, but gave up the idea at the end of
the year.
58 Fitch, Narration de laSra viuda del Capitan Enrique D. Fit eh, MS., dic-
tated in 1875 by the lady at Healdsburg for my use. Some original papers
relating to the marriage are annexed, including an authenticated copy of the
marriage certificate.
THE FITCH ROMANCE. 141
As an essential preliminary, Padre Menenclez baptized
the American, April 14, 1829, at the presidial chapel
of San Diego. 59 The friar promised to marry the
couple the next day; preparations were made, and a
few friends assembled late in the evening at the house
of the Carrillos. 63 At the last moment, however,
Domingo Carrillo, uncle of the bride, refused to serve
as witness; the friar's courage failed him, and the
ceremony could not proceed. 61 Neither the argu-
ments and angry ravings of the Yankee novio nor the
tears and entreaties of the novia could overcome the
padre's fears and scruples; but he reminded Fitch that
there were other countries where the laws were less
stringent, and even offered to go in person and marry
him anywhere beyond the limits of California. " Why
don't you carry me off, Don Enrique?" naively sug-
gested Dona Josefa. Captain Barry approved the
scheme, and so did Pio Pico, cousin of the lady.
The parents were not consulted. Fitch, though some-
what cautious on account of his business relations and
prospects on the coast, was not a man to require urg-
ing. Next night Pio Pico, mounted on his best steed,
took his cousin Josefa up on the saddle and carried
her swiftly to a spot on the bay-shore where a boat
was waiting ; the lovers were soon re-united on board
the Vulture; 62 and before morning w^ere far out on
59 Arch. Sta B., MS., xii. 345. Enrique Domingo Fitch, Domingo being
substituted for Delano at baptism, was a son of Beriah and Sarah Fitch of
New Bedford. Alf. Domingo Carrillo was godfather.
60 Besides the immediate family, there were present Domingo Carrillo,
Capt. Richard Barry, Pio Pico, and Maximo Beristain. Fitch, Causa Crim-
inal, MS., 345.
61 This is the version given by Fitch and his wife in their testimony of the
next year. There is another version authorized by the lady herself, Fitch,
Narration, MS., 4, and given by Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 117-22; Vallejo
(J. J.), Feminiscencias, MS., 103-7; and Pico, Hist. CaL, MS., 21-4, to the
effect that when all was ready and the padre had begun the service, Alf.
Domingo Carrillo, aid to the governor, appeared and forbade the marriage in
Echeandia's name. It is also more than hinted that Echcandia's motive was
jealousy, since the fair Josefa had not shown due appreciation of his own
attentions.
c ' 2 Both the Vulture and the Maria Fster, the latter under command of
Fitch, were on the coast at the time and apparently at S. Diego, for it was
the piloto of the Maria Ester who took the lady in his boat. Why Fitch did
not sail in his own vessel does not appear; but Mrs Fitch says they went in
142 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
the Pacific. They were married on the evening of
July 3d at Valparaiso, by the curate Orrego, Capt.
Barry being one of the witnesses. Subsequently
they returned to Callao and Lima.
The elopement of Seilorita Carrillo was naturally
much talked of in California; rumors were current
that she had been forcibly abducted from her home,
and the ecclesiastical authorities were greatly scan-
dalized. Next year, however, Fitch made his appear-
ance in command of the Leonor, having on board also
his wife and infant son. He touched at San Diego in
July 1830, and thence came up to San Pedro. Here
he received a summons from Padre Sanchez at San
Gabriel, vicar and ecclesiastical judge of the territory 7 ,
to present himself for trial on most serious charges; but
he merely sent his marriage certificate by Virmond for
the vicar's inspection, and sailed up the coast for Santa
Barbara and Monterey. Sanchez at once sent an order
to Monterey that Fitch be arrested and sent to San
Gabriel for trial, Dona Josefa being 'deposited' in some
respectable house at the capital. This order was ex-
ecuted by Echeandia at the end of August on the ar-
rival of the Leonor. m The lady was sent to Captain
Cooper's house, and the husband was placed under
.arrest. He claimed, however, to be unable to travel
by land. He protested against imprisonment as ruin-
ous to his business, complained that the trial had
not been begun at San Diego, and asked that at least
he might be allowed to travel by sea. Jose Palo-
mares, to whom as fiscal Padre Sanchez submitted this
request, gave a radical report against Fitch Septem-
ber 17th, declaring him entitled to no concessions, his
offences being most heinous, and his intention being
evidently to run away again. Yet Sanchez concluded
to permit the trip by sea, on Virmond becoming
the Vulture, and the part taken by Capt. Richard Barry in the matter con-
firms her statement.
c3 Aug. 29, 1830, E.'s order to Alf. Nieto to arrest Fitch. Dcpt. JRec, MS.,
viii. 98.
A RUNAWAY MATCH. 143
bondsman for the culprit's presentment in clue time ;
and on December 8th Fitch arrived at San Gabriel,
and was made a prisoner in one of the mission rooms.
Meanwhile Mrs Fitch petitioned Echeandia at the
end of October for release, and permission to go south
by sea. The governor consented, and Dona Josefa
sailed on the Ayacucho for Santa Barbara, whence
she proceeded on the Pocahontas to San Pedro, arriv-
ing at San Gabriel on November 24th, where she
was committed to the care of Eulalia Perez of later
centenarian fame. When her husband came, the house
of Dona Eulalia was deemed too near his prison, and
Josefa was transferred to the care of Mrs William A.
Richardson. The fiscal pronounced Echeandia's act a
gross infringement on ecclesiastical authority, declared
him a culprit before God's tribunal, and urged that
he be arrested and brought to trial. But Vicar
Sanchez, though taking a similar view of Echeandia's
conduct, thought it best, in view of the critical con-
dition of affairs and the nearness of the time when
Victoria was to take command, not to attempt the
governor's arrest.
In December, Fitch and his wife were repeatedly
interrogated before the ecclesiastical court, and Fiscal
Palomares for a third time ventilated his legal learning.
He now admitted his belief that the motives of the
accused had been honest and pure, also that the affair
might be settled without referring it to the bishop,
but still maintaining the nullity of the marriage. 64
Fitch presented in his own behalf an elaborate argu-
ment against the views of the fiscal, complaining of
his business losses, and of the threatened illegitimacy
of his son, but for which he would be glad to have the
marriage declared null and to marry over again.
64 The objections to the marriage certificate — of which I have the authen-
ticated copy made at this trial — were that it was slightly torn and blotted ;
that it included no statement of the city or church where the ceremony was
performed; that the paper was neither legalized before 3 escribajws, nor visdd
by the Chilian minister of foreign affairs. Moreover, P. Orrego, not being the
curate of the parties, could not marry them without a dispensation from the
bishop.
144 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
Many witnesses were examined, both at San Gabriel
and San Diego. On the 28th of December the vicar
rendered his decision, Christi nomine invocato, that the
fiscal had not substantiated his accusations; that the
marriage at Valparaiso, though not legitimate, was
not null, but valid; that the parties be set at liberty,
the wife being given up to the husband; and that they
be velados the next Sunday, receiving the sacraments
that ought to have preceded the marriage cere-
mony. "Yet, considering the great scandal which
Don Enrique has caused in this province, I condemn
him to give as a penance and reparation a bell of at
least fifty pounds in weight for the church at Los
Angeles, which barely has a borrowed one." More-
over, the couple must present themselves in church
with lighted candles in their hands to hear high mass
for three alias festivos, and recite together for thirty
days one third of the rosary of the holy virgin. Let
us hope that these acts of penance were devoutly per-
formed. The vicar did not fail to order an investiga-
tion of the charges against Padre Menendez, who had
acted irregularly in advising the.parties to leave the
country ; but nothing is recorded of the result. 65
Only seventeen vessels are named in the records of
1830, besides four that rest on doubtful authority; so
that commercial industry would seem to show dimin-
ished prosperity ; yet the records of this final year of the
decade are less complete than before. 66 A Mexican
report makes the revenue receipts at San Diego for
65 Fitch, Causa Criminal seguida, en el Juzgado Eclesidstico y Vicaria Ford-
nea de la Alta California, contra Don Enrique Domingo Fitch, Anglo- Ameri-
cano, por el matrimonio nulo contraido con Dona Josefa Carrillo, natural de
San Diego. Ano de 1830, MS. This most interesting collection of over 30
documents, of which I have given a brief r£sume\ is the original authority on
the whole matter. Jan. 9, 1831, Fitch writes from San Gabriel to Capt.
Cooper, denying the rumors current at Sta Barbara that he was doing penance;
says P. Sanchez treated him very well, and seemed anxious to let him off as
easy as possible. He has had trouble with the parents of Dona Josefa, who
abused her, and he w T ill not leave his wife with them. Vallejo, Doc, MS.,
XXX. 171.
<i6 See list at end of this chapter. The vessels of 1830 were the Ayacucho,
Brookline, Catalina (?), Chalcedony (?), Convoy, Cyrus. Danube, Dryad, Emily,
TRADE IN 1830. 145
the year $22,432, while the custom-house records
seem to make the amount $3 6, 8 7 5. 67 No vessel of the
year seems to require special notice, neither were
there any important modifications in trade or revenue
regulations. Commercial and maritime annals of 1830
are thus wellnigh a blank. 68 I append an alphabet-
ical list of all the vessels, about 100 in number, be-
sides doubtful records, touching on the coast in 1825-
30, with such items about each as are accessible
and apparently worth preserving. I might add the
dates at which all the vessels, or most of them,
touched at the different ports on their successive
trips; but the information would be of great bulk
and little real valued
Flinched, Globe, Jura, Leonor, Maria Ester, Planet, Pocahontas, Seringapa-
tan(?), Thomas Nowlan, Volunteer, Washington {1), Whaleman.
67 Unsueta, Informe, 1829, doc. 9. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cast. -II., MS., i.
passim.
68 A few miscellaneous notes of minor importance are as follows: Feb. 19,
1830, one sixth of duties deducted in case of national vessels from foreign
ports. Dept. Pec, MS., viii. 22., April 23d, agreement between J. C. Jones,
Jr., and Cooper, by which the former is to furnish a vessel under Mexican
Hag, for coasting trade, collecting furs, otter-hunting, etc., to be carrried on
by the two in partnership. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. xxx. 45. Nov. 24th, gov.
says the vice-president complains that many vessels becoming nationalized do
not comply with the laws requiring officers and one third of the crew to be
Mexicans — a necessary formality to reduce the duties. Dept. Pec, MS., viii.
125. Aug. 17th, action of the dip. regulating the duties on timber exported —
the proceeds belonging to the propios y arbitrios fund. Leg. Pec, MS., i. 166-7.
Mar. 31st, Mex. law on seizure of contraband goods. Arrillaga, Pecop., 1831,
227-33. Aug. 24, law on consumption duty on foreign goods. Id. , 1831, p. 233-
6. Mexicans engaged in taking otter have no duties to pay to national treas-
ury. Two citizens of Sta Barbara were engaged in the business at the islands.
Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxviii. 4. June 30th, J. B. Lopez allowed
to take otter, paying from $1 to $3 per skin to the territorial treasury. Dept.
Pec, viii. 52, 130. In June Mancisidor writes to Guerra very discouragingly
respecting the prospects of the trade in Cal. hides and tallow. This state
of things was largely due to the inferior quality of the Cal. products, resulting
from the carelessness of excessive speculation. All dealers suffer, and some
will be ruined. Cal. hides bring less than those of Buenos Aires, being too
dry and too much stretched. Guerra, Doc, Hist. Cal., MS., vi. 140-1.
C9 List of vessels in Californian ports, 1825-30:
Adam, Amer. ship, 296 tons; "Daniel Fallon, master; at S. Francisco in
Oct. 1826.
Alliance, Amer. ship; doubtfully recorded as having arrived at Monterey
in Oct. 1826.
Alvinz, doubtful whaler of 1829.
America, doubtful whaler of 1829.
Andes, Amer. brig, 122 or 172 tons; Seth Rogers, master; on coast from
spring of 1S28 (perhaps autumn of 1827) to spring of 1S29; paid $430 at
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 10
140 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
Mont., and was in some trouble about duties at S. Diego, where she loaded
salt meat.
Ann, Engl, ship; Burnie, master; in Spence's list for 1829.
Apollo, whaler; at Sta Cruz, 1825.
Aqniles, Span, man-of-war; Pedro Angulo, com.; at Sta B. in May 1825.
(See text.)
Arab, Amer. brig. My fragment of her original log ends Jan. 5, 1825, at
Pt Pinos. She re-appeared under a Russian name in 1828, having been sold
to the Russ. Co.
Argosy, Russ. brig, 140 tons; Inestrumo, master; at Monterey and Bodega
in 1823, from Sitka.
Asia, Span, ship of war, 70 guns, 400 men; Jos6 Martinez, com.; surren-
dered at Mont., 1825; also called San Gerdnimo. (See text.)
Ayacucho, Engl, brig, 232 tons; Joseph Snook, master; arr. Mont, from
Honolulu in Oct. 1830. (See later lists.)
Baikal, Russ. brig, 202 tons; up and down the coast from Ross to S.
Diego each year from 182G to 1830; Beuseman master, and Khl6bnikof super-
cargo, in 182G; paid $1,216 at S. Diego; Etholin, master in 1828; brought
vaccine matter in 1829.
Bechet, Hamburg brig; doubtfully recorded as having trouble about smug-
gling at S. Diego in 1828.
Bengal, Engl, ship; in Spence's list for 1825.
Blossom, Engl, explor. ship; Beechey, com.; at S. Fran, and Mont, in
autumn of 1826 and 1827. (See text.)
Brillante, perhaps at S. Diego from S. Bias in Jan. 1828.
Brooldine, Amer. ship, 376 or 417 tons, from Boston; Jas O. Locke,
master; Wm A. Gale, sup.; Alf. Robinson, clerk; Arther, mate; Bryant &
Sturgis, owners; arr. Mont. Feb. 1820; paid $31,000 at S. Diego; wintered
on the coast until 1830. (See text.)
Cadboro, Engl, schr, 71 tons; Simpson, master; at S. Fran, from Colum-
bia Riv. Dec. 1827.
Catalina, Mex. brig; C. Cristen, master; Eulogio Celis, sup.; doubtful
record in Hayes' list, 1830.
Chalcedony, bark; Jos Steel, master; doubtful record of 1830.
Charles, Amer. whaler, 301 tons, 21 men; S. Fran. 1826.
Clio, Amer. brig, 179 tons; Aaron W. Williams, master; came in 1828
to load with tallow for Chili.
Comete, French ship, 500 tons, 43 men; Antoine Placiat, master; came in
1827 as a rival to the Hcros; tonnage at Mazatlan; duties, $1,048 at Sta B.
Constante, Span, man-of-war; surrendered with the Asia at Mont, in 1825.
Convoy, brig; at S. Fran, in Oct. 1830, paying $321.
Courier, Amer. ship, 200 or 293 tons; Wm Cunningham, master; Thos
Shaw, sup.; Geo. W. Vincent on board; on the coast from 1826 (possibly
1825) to 1828, paying $937. $1,586, and $186 in duties on different occasions.
Cyrus, Amer. whaler, 320 tons, 22 men; Dav. Harriens, master; at S. F.
in 1826; also at Sta B. Dec. 1830, with 1,500 bbls oil, to be coopered at S.
Diego.
Danube, Amer. ship from N. Y. ; Sam. Cook, master; arr. early in
1S30, and was soon wrecked at S. Pedro; hull sold for $1,761 and cargo for
$3,316 in Feb. to Dana and Guerra.
Dhaulle (or Dolly?), Amer. brig; Wm Warden, master; at Mont. July
1829, from Honolulu; carried 47 horses to the Islands.
Don, whaler; at Sta B. 1S25.
Dryad, Engl, brig, from Columbia River; arr. Mont. Dec. 22, 1830.
Eagle, Amer. schr; at Sta B. Jan. 1825 (re-named Sta Apolonia, q. v.)
Elena, Russ. brig; Moraviof, master; 16 guns, 49 men, 10 oilicers; Karl
von Schmidt and Nicolai Molvisto, passengers; wintered at S. Fran. 1S25-6.
Eliza, Engl, brig; J. Morphew (or Murphy), master; 1825-6; $9,500 of
cloth to McC., II. & Co. ; paid $1,112 duties at Sta B.
Emily Marsham; at Sta B. Sept. L828, from Sandw. Isl.j took prisoners
from Sta B. in Feb. 1830? perhaps had returned in autumn of 1S29.
MARINE LIST 1825-30. 147
Factor, Amer. whaler; John Alexy, master; at S. Fran. 1825.
Favorite, Engl, whaler, 377 tons, 35 men; John Fort (Ford?), master; at
Sta 13., from London, Oct. 1827.
Fenix, whaler, 300 tons; Wm Ratiguende (?), master, 1828.
Fran/din, Amcr. whaler, 294 tons; Wm Collin, master; at S. Fran. 1826.
Fran/din, Amer. ship, 333 tons; John Bradshaw, master; Rufus Perkins,
and later J. A. C. Holmes, sup.; on the coast from 1827 to 1S29. (See text
for her troubles at S. Diego in 1828.)
Fulham, Engl, brig; Virmond, owner; came for hides and tallow, and win-
tered 1827-8.
Funchal, Engl, brig, 190 tons; Stephen Anderson, master, owner, and
sup. ; on the coast from autumn of 1828 to Feb. 1830, sailing from S. Pedro
with 1G,400 hides.
General Bravo, Mex. brig, 100 or 180 tons; Melendez, master; at Mont.
Oct. -Dec. 1S2G, with tobacco.
General Sucre, Arner. brig; Carlos Pitnak, or Pitnes (?), master; left a
deserter S. Diego, 1828.
Globe, Amer. brig, 190 tons; Moore, master; at Monterey 1830, for Guay-
maa.
Golovnin, Russ. brig; at Mont. Dec. 1827.
Griffon, Amer. brig, from Honolulu; Peirce, master, 1828.
Guibale (or Gaibale?), Amer. schr, 121 tons; Thos Ilobbins, master; at
Sta B. April 1S28.
Harbinger, Amer. brig, 180 tons; Jos Steel, master and consignee; Thos
B. Park, sup.; two trips from the Islands in 182G-8; paid $450, $570, $1,250;
carried away two fugitive friars in Jan. 1828.
llelvetius, doubtful whaler of 1829. (See later lists.)
JJ6ros, French ship, 250 tons; Auguste Duhaut-Cilly, master; trading on
the coast 1827-8. (See text.)
Huascar, Engl, brig under Peruvian flag, 249 tons; Scott, Alex. Skee, or
J. M. Oyagiie, master; Hartnell, passenger; cons, to McC, H., & Co., 1827-8;
paid $010 at S. Fran.
Inca, Engl, brig, 170 tons, 11 guns; Wm Prouse (or Prause), master;
from Callao to McC., H., & Co. in 182G (possibly arr. in 1825); then to
Liverpool in 128 days.
Indian, Engl, ship; in Spence's list of 1829.
Inore, Hawaiian brig, 155 tons, 182G.
Isabella (or Sarah and Elizabeth), Engl, whaler, 250 tons, 28 men; Ed-
ward David, master; Mrs Hartnell, passenger; at Sta B., from Mont. Oct.
1827.
James Coleman, Engl.; Hennet, master; in Spence's list for 1829.
Jdven Angustias, Mex. schr; at Sta B. Sept. 1829; also doubtful record
of 1823.
Juan Dattey, doubtful name of 1825; John Burton, master.
Junius, Engl, brig; Carter, master; at Mont, in 1825, paying $3,663 duties.
Jura, Engl, brig; at Sta B., from Mazatlan, May 1830.
Karimoko (or Carimacu), Hawaiian brig, 128 tons; John Lawlor, master;
Wm Watts (?), sup.; on the coast 1827-8, paying $14 and $314. (See text
for smuggling adventures.)
Kiakhta, Russ. brig, built in Cal., running between Ross and S. Fran.;
wintered at S. Fran. 1825-G and 1828-9; paid $95 and $1,548.
Laperin (or Lapwing?), Russ. brig; doubtful record of Nov. 1828.
Leonor, Mex. ship, 207 tons; 23 men; Henry D. Fitch, master; brought
convicts in 1830. (See text for Fitch's runaway marriage.)
Majdahna (or Victoria), Mex. schr, 90 tons; Ramon Sanchez, master; on
coast winter of 1827-8.
Maria Ester, Mex. brig, 170 or 93 tons; owned by Henry Virmond, who
was on board in 1828; came from Lima or Mex. ports every year from
1825 to 1830; Davis, master in 1825; to McC, H, & Co. ; paid $308; Fitch, mas-
ter 182G-9; brought artillery in 1828; John A. C. Holmes, master in 1830;
brought convicts. Possibly 2 vessels of same name.
148 MARITIME AND COMMERCIAL AFFAIRS.
Maria Theresa, Araer. whaler, 291 tons; Wm Guilcost, master; at S. Fran.
1S2G.
Massachusetts, Amer. whaler, 343 tons, 21 men; Seth Calheart (?), master;
at S. Fran. Oct. 1827.
Mercury, Amer. whaler, 340 tons; Wm Austin, master; at Sta B. Nov.
1826.
Mero, Amer. ship, 300 tons; Barcelo Juain (?), master; doubtful record
at Sta B. Nov. 1820.
Merope, Engl, ship from Calcutta and China; Espeleta, sup. ; at S. Fran.
Sept. 1825.
Minerva, Amer. whaler, 160 tons; D. Cornelio, master; at Sta B. Oct.
1828.
Moor, whaler of 1826.
Mordos (formerly S. Carlos), Mex. transport; Flaminio Agazini, com.; at
Mont, and S. Fran. 1825.
Nile, Amer. brig; Robert Forbes, master; trouble about $600 duties in
1825.
Okhotsk, Russ. brig, 150 tons; Dionisio Zarembo, master; on the coast
1827-8-9; paid $55 and $179; in trouble for having transferred cargo to
Kiakhta.
Oliphant, brig; doubtful record as having loaded at Callao for Cal. in 1827.
Olive Branch, Engl, brig, 204 tons, 13 men; Wm Henderson, master;
Jas Scott, sup. ; cons, to Mancisidor from Callao for hides and tallow; win-
tered 1826-7, paying $510.
Orion, Amer. whaler, 350 tons, 22 men; Alfon Alfe (?), master; at Sta
B. Oct., 1827, from Sandw. Isl.
Pararjon, Amer. whaler, 309 tons, 23 men; Dav. Edwards, master; at S.
Fran. 1826.
Paraiso (or Paradise), Hamburg schr, 123 tons, 11 men; Henry Adams,
master; cons, to Mancisidor in 1827; paid $3,907 and $631.
Peruvian, Amer. whaler, 331 tons, 22 men; Alex. Macy, master; at S. Fran.
1826.
Pizarro, Engl, brig, 1825-6; cons, probably to McC, H., & Co.; paid
$4,712, and $523.
Planet (or Plant), Amer. ship, 208 tons, 20 men; Jos Steel and John
Rutter, masters, 1829-30.
Plowboy, Amer. whaler, Chadwick, master; at S. Fran. 1825.
Pocahontas, whaler, 309 tons, in 1828.
Pocahontas, Amer. ship, 21 men; John Bradshaw, master; Thos Shaw,
sup.; autumn of 1830.
Rascow, whaler, 362 tons; Geo. Reed, master, 1828.
Recovery, Engl, whaler; Wm Fisher, master; at S. Fran. 1825.
Rosalia, Amer. ship, 323 tons; Bruno Colespedriguez (?), master; at S.
Pedro, Oct. 1829T
Rover, Cal. schooner, 83 tons; Cooper, master; Argiiello, owner; made
a trip to China and back 1825-6, and then sailed for Mex. ports; paid $S12;
left $5,250 in goods at S. Diego. (See text.)
Sachem, Amer. ship, Bryant & Sturgis, owners; Wm A. Gale, sup.; on
the coast from 1825 to Jan. 1827, when she sailed for Boston; duties as
recorded $489, $2,063, $232.
Santa Apolonia (formerly Eagle), Mex. schr; Manuel Bates, master;
Ramon Sanchez, sup.; Urbano Sanchez, owner; loaded with tallow at S.
Luis Obispo in Aug. 1826.
Santa Barbara, schr. built in Cal. 1829 for otter-hunting and coast trade.
Sta Rosa, doubtful name of 1825.
Seringapatan, East Ind. ship, grounded on Blossom Rock in 1830 (per-
haps an error in date).
Sirena, vaguely mentioned as having brought money to Cal. in 1826.
Snow, doubtful record of 1825.
Solitude, Amer. ship, or Engl, brig; Jas or Chas Anderson, master,
1820-8.
MARINE LIST 1825-30. 149
Speedy, Engl, brig, to McC., H. & Co., 1826; carried $26,997 of tallow
to Caliao.
Spy, Amer. schr, 75 tons, accompanying the Sachem and offered for sale;
Geo. Smith, master; on the coast 1825-7; also called in some records the
Spray.
Susana, Engl, ship; Swain, master; in Spence's list for 1829.
Tamaahmaah, Hawaiian brig, 180 tons; Robt J. Elwell, master or sup.
in 1827; John Meek in 1829.
Tartar, Amer. schr; Benj. Morrell, master; on the coast 1825. (See
text for captain's adventures and book.)
Telemachus, Amer. brig; Jas Gillespie, master; from the Isl. in 1828 for
trade and repairs; accused of smuggling.
Tenieya, Amer. brig; paid $232 at Sta B. 1827.
Thomas Nowlan, Engl, ship, 201 or 301 tons; Wm Clark, master, 1820-
7; cons, to Mancisidor; paid $2,185 and $2,199; John Wilson, master, 1828-
30; paid $858.
Tiemechmach (?), Amer. brig from N. Y.; John Michi (Meek?), master,
1825.
Times, Engl, whaler, 407 tons; Wm Ross, master; at Sta B. Oct. 1828.
Timorelan, Haw. brig, 160 tons, seal-hunter; at Sta B. Sept. 1826.
Tomasa, at Sta B. 1827, paying $1,570; also doubtful record of 1825.
Trident, Amer. ship, 450 tons; Felix Estirten (?), master; at S. Pedro Oct.
1829.
Triton, whaler, 300 tons, 1825-6; Jean Opham, or Ibre Albet (?), masters.
Perhaps two vessels.
Verale, Amer. schr, 140 tons; Wm Deny, master, 1828.
Volunteer, Amer. bark, 126 or 226 tons; Wm S. Hinkley, master; John
C. Jones, owner; from Sandw. Isl. 1829-30; carried Solis and other prison-
ers to S. Bias in 1830; paid $4,054 at S. Fran.
Vulture (or Buitre), Engl, brig, 101 tons; Rich. Barry, master; Virmond,
owner; from Caliao 1828-9; paid $1,130.
Warren, Amer. whaler; Wm Rice, master, 1826; also Amer. ship, per-
haps the same, at Mont. Dec. 1829.
Washington, Amer. schr, 52 or 140 tons; Robt Elwell, master from 1828;
A. B. Thompson, sup.; from Sandw. Isl. 1825-6-7-8-9 and perhaps 1830;
paid $49, $232, $93; carried horses to Honolulu.
Washington, whaler, 317 tons; Wm Kelley, master, 1826.
Waverly, Haw. brig, 142 tons, 9 men, 40 kanaka hunters; Wm G. Dana,
master, 1826; carried away 1,428 guilders, 2,000 Span, dollars, 4 bars silver, 138
otter skins, 212 seal skins; Bobbins, master, 1827-8; John Temple, passenger,
1827, from Islands; in 1829 carried horses to Honolulu.
Whaleman, schr; at S. Fran, winter of 1825-6; perhaps a whaler. Writ-
ten also Guelman.
Whaleman, brig, 316 tons; Jos. Paddock, master; from Society Isl. 1830.
Wilmantic, Amer. whaler, 384 tons; Juan Bois, master, 1828.
Wilmington, Amer. ship, 364 tons; John Bon, master; at S. Pedro Oct.
1829. (Probably same as preceding.)
Young Tartar (or Jdven Tartar), Engl, schr, 95 tons; John Brown (?),
master, 1826-7 (possibly 1825); paid $580; cargo insured in London 1827
for £4,000.
Zamora, Wm Sumner, master.
My authorities for the items of this list are more than 1,000 in number,
chiefly in manuscript records. As each vessel would require a mention of
from 1 to 20 titles, it is not practicable to give the references separately; and
in a group for all maritime affairs they would be of little practical value;
therefore I omit them, though I have the prepared list before me. The most
important have been named in the notes of this chapter.
CHAPTER VI.
OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS
1826-1830.
The Eastern Frontier — The Trappers — First Visitors by the Over-
land Route — Jedediah Smith, 1826-8 — Errors Corrected — Original
Documents — The Sierra Nevada Crossed and Re-crossed— First
Entry of the Hudson's Bay Company — McLeod and Ogden — Pat-
tie's Visit and Imprisonment, 1828-30 — Flint's Narrative — Truth
and Fiction — A Tour of Vaccination — 'Peg-leg' Smith — Trapping
License of Exter and Wilson — Vaca from New Mexico — Ewing
Young and his Hunters from New Mexico — Foreign Residents —
Annual Lists of New-comers — Regulations on Passports and Nat-
uralization.
For forty years California had been visited with
increasing frequency by foreigners, that is, by men
whose blood was neither Indian nor Spanish. Eng-
land, the United States, Russia, and France were
the nations chiefly represented among the visitors,
some of whom came to stay, and to all of whom in
the order of their coming I have devoted some atten-
tion in the annals of the respective years. All had
come from the south, or west, or north by the broad
highway of the Pacific Ocean bounding the territory
on the west and leading to within a few miles of the
most inland Spanish establishments. The inland boun-
dary — an arc whose extremities touch the coast at San
Diego and at 41i°, an arc for the most part of sierras
nevadas so far as could be seen, with a zone of desert
beyond as yet unknown — had never yet been crossed
by man of foreign race, nor trod, if we except the
(150)
WESTWARD MOVEMENT. 151
southern segment cut by a line from San Gabriel to
Mojave, by other than aboriginal feet. 1
Meanwhile a grand advance movement from the
Atlantic westward to the Mississippi, to the plains, to
the Rocky Mountains, and into the Great Basin had
been gradually made by the fur-hunting pioneers of
the broad interior — struggling onward from year to
year against obstacles incomparably greater than
those presented by the gales and scurvy of the
Pacific. If I were writing the history of California
alone, it would be appropriate and probably necessary
to present here, en resume at least, the general move-
ment to which I have alluded, embodying the annals
of the various fur companies. But the centre of the
fur trade was much farther north, and its annals can-
not be profitably separated from the history of the
North-west. For this reason — bearing in mind also
those portions of my work relating locally to Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona
— I feel justified in referring the reader for the gen-
eral exploration westward to other chapters of other
volumes, and in confining my record here to such
expeditions as directly affect Californian territory.
These began in 1826, when the inland barrier of
mountain and desert was first passed, and from that
date the influx of foreigners by overland routes be-
comes a topic of ever growing importance. It is well, .
however, to understand at the outset, that respecting
the movements of the trappers no record of even tolera-
ble completeness exists, or could be expected to exist. .
After 1826 an army of hunters, increasing from hun-
dreds to thousands, frequented the fur-producing
1 A few English and American deserters, leaving their vessels at Todds
Santos or thereabouts, had on two or three occasions been sent across the
frontier to S. Diego, forming an exception of little importance to my general
statement. Another exception of somewhat greater weight rests in the possi-
bility that trappers may have crossed the northern frontier before 1326. It
is not improbable that Hudson's Bay Company men may have done so from
the Willamette Valley on one or more occasions, though there is no more
definite record than the rumor of 1820-1, that foreign hunters were present
in the north, and the newspaper report of McKay's presence in Siskiyou in
1825.
152 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
streams of the interior, and even the valleys of Cali-
fornia, flitting hither and thither, individuals and
parties large or small according to the disposition of
the natives, wandering without other motive than the
hope of more abundant game, well acquainted with the
country, as is the wont of trappers, but making no
maps and keeping no diaries. Occasionally they
came in contact with civilization east or west, and
left a trace in the archives; sometimes a famous trap-
per and Indian-fighter was lucky enough to fall in
with a writer to put his fame and life in print; some
of them lived later among the border settlers, and
their tales of wild adventure, passing not without
modification through many hands, found their way
into newspaper print. Some of them still live to re-
late their memories to me and others, sometimes truly
and accurately, sometimes confusedly, and sometimes
falsely, as is the custom of trappers like other men.
I make no claim of ability to weave continuity from
fragments, bring order from chaos, distinguish in every
instance truth from falsehood, or build up a narrative
without data; nevertheless, I proceed with confidence
to write in this chapter and others of the men who
came to California overland from the east.
Jedediah S. Smith was the first man who made the
trip. From a post of the fur company established at
or near Great Salt Lake a year or two earlier, 2 Smith
started in August 1826 for the south-west with fif-
teen men, intent rather on explorations for future
work than on present trapping. 3 Crossing Utah Lake,
2 Smith was associated with Jackson and Sublette, and the post had been
established by W. H. Ashley.
3 Smith, Excursion a I'ouest des Monts Rnclcy. Extrait cVuve lettre cle M.
Jedidiah Smith, employe d<>. la Compagnie des Pelleteries, in Nouv. Ann. des
V.oy.. xxxvii. 208-12. Taken from an American paper. The news — perhaps
the paper, but certainly not Smith's letter as might seem from the transla-
tion — was dated St. Louis Oct. 11, 1827. This brief letter, in which very
likely wild work is made with names in the printing and translation, is in
connection with the correspondence preserved in the archives, the best au-
thority on the subject. The general accounts extant are full of errors, though
each purports to correct errors previously made. Warner, l&miniscenccs, MS.,
JEDEDIAII SMITH. 153
he seems to have passed in a general south-westerly
course to the junction of the Virgin River and Colo-
21-9, errs chiefly in dates and order of events. He makes Smith start in
1824 and lead a party of hunters through the Green River country, south of
Salt Lake, over the Sierra Nevada near Walker Pass, into the Tulare Val-
ley. In June 1825, leaving his men on the American Fork — whence the
name — he re-crossed the sierra with two men. Starting back for California
in the autumn of 1825 by a more southern route, he was attacked by the Mo-
javes while crossing the Colorado, and lost all his men but 2 or 3, with whom
he reached S. Gabriel late in 1826. The author of Cronise's Natural Wealth
of Cal., after being at much trouble to unravel the various stories, 'gathered
the following particulars from those who knew Smith personally, and from
documents in the state archives:' 'In the spring of 1825, Smith, with a party
of 40 trappers and Indians, left their rendezvous on Green River near the
South Pass, and pushed their way westward, crossing the Sierra Nevada into
the Tulare Valley, which they reached in July 1825. The party trapped
from the Tulare to the American fork of the Sacramento, where there was al-
ready a camp of American trappers (?). Smith camped near the site of the
present town of Folsom, about 22 miles north-east of the other party. From
this camp Smith sent out parties, which were so successful that in October,
leaving all the others in California, in company with 2 of the party, he returned
to his rendezvous on Green River with several bales of skins. In May 1826
Smith was sent back with a reenforcement. On this trip he led his party
farther south than on the former one, which brought them into the Mojaves'
settlements on the Colorado, where all the party except Smith, Galbraith, and
Turner were killed by the Indians. These three made their way to S. Ga-
briel on Dec. 26, 1826, where they were arrested,' etc. Cronisealso publishes
a translation of 2 documents from the archives, of which more later.
Thomas Sprague, in a letter of Sept. 18, 1860, to Edmund Randolph, pub-
lished in Hutchings' Mag., v. 351-2, and also in the S. F. Bulletin, states that
Smith, starting from Green River in 1825, reached and went down the Hum-
boldt River, which he named Mary River from his Indian wife, crossed the
mountains probably near the head of the Truckee, and passed on clown the
valley to S. Jose" and S. Diego. Recruiting his men and buying many horses,
he re-crossed the mountains near Walker Pass, skirted the eastern base to
near Mono Lake, and on a straight north-east course for Salt Lake found
placer gold in large quantities. He was ordered to return and prospect the
gold fields on his way back from California, but near the gold mines he was
killed with most of his party.
Robert Lyon furnished to Angel, author of the Nevada Hist., 20 et seq.,
a version somewhat similar to that of Sprague, including the discovery of
coarse placer gold near Mono Lake. His account seems to rest on the testi-
mony, in 1860, of Rocky Mountain Jack and Bill Reed, who claimed to have
been companions of Smith.
An 'associate of the daring pioneer' corrected prevailing errors as follows
in the S. F. Times, June 14, 1867: 'He came into California in 1827, with
a trapping party from the rendezvous of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company,
on the Yellowstone River. He left his party on the American fork of the
Sacramento in the summer of that year, and with two men returned to the
rendezvous, where he fitted out a new party and returned in 1828 to the
American, where the two parties were combined, and moving northwardly,
he reached the Umpqua River,' etc.
It will be noticed that all these versions have the double trip and some
other points in common, and that the confusion is largely removed by the
original authorities, on which I found my text. Randolph, Oration, 313-14,
translating Smith's letter to P. Duran, and Tuthill, Hist. Cal., 124-5, as well
as Frignet, La Calif ornic, 58-60, mention Smith's arrival in 1826 in so gen-
eral a manner as to avoid serious error. The same may be said of Douglas,
154 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
rado, down to the Mojave villages, and westward
across the desert to San Gabriel. 4
The Amajabes on the Colorado treated the party
well, furnishing fresh provisions, and horses stolen from
the Spaniards, and two wandering neophytes guided
the sixteen Americans over the desert to the mission,
where they arrived in December. The trappers gave
up their arms, and the leader was taken to San Diego,
where he explained his object, and submitted to Gov-
ernor Echeandia his papers, including passports from
the U. S. government, and a diary. The coming of
the strangers naturally excited suspicion at first; but
this was removed by Smith's plea that he had been
compelled to enter the territory for want of provisions
and water, it being impossible to return by the same
route; and his cause was still further strengthened by
a certificate of Dana, Cunningham, and other Amer-
icans, that the trapper's papers were all en regie, and
his motives doubtless pacific and honorable. 5 He was
therefore permitted to purchase supplies, and under-
take his eastward march by a new route; but not, as
Private Papers, MS., 2d series, p. 1, Victor, River of the West, 34, andHines,
Voyage, 110. though these writers speak with reference to later events in
Oregon, and derived their information from distinct sources. The Yolo Co.
Hist., S. Joaq. Co. Hist., and other like works describe Smith's adventures,
in some cases as accurately as was possibly from accessible data, still with
various combinations of the errors already noted.
4 The details of the route are worth preservation briefly, though not clear
in all respects. Started Aug. 22d from Salt Lake, crossed the little Uta Lake,
went up the Ashley, which flows into that lake through the country of the Sum-
patch Indians, crossed a range of mountains extending s. E. to N. w., crossed
a river which he named Adams for the president, and which flowed s. w. Ten
days' march to the Adams again, which had turned s. E. (This is not clear;
the text says, 'a dix journeys de marche 1'Adams River tourne au s. e., il y a
la une caverne,' etc. Query — Did Smith pass from the Sevier to the Virgin,
and suppose them to be one stream ?) Two days down the Adams to its junc-
tion with the Seeds- Keedcr, a river with many shallows and rapids, and hav-
ing a sterile country on the south; farther to a fertile wooded valley inhabited
by the Ammuchcebes (Amajabes, or Mojaves), where he remained 15 days.
This was 80 miles above where the Seeds-Keeder, under the name of Rio Col-
orado, flowed into the gulf of California. Re-crossing the Seeds-Keeder, he
went 15 days west into a desert country, and across a salt plain 8 by 20 miles.
Here the details cease abruptly, and he next speaks of his arrival in Upper
California.
5 Dated at S. Diego Dec. 20, 1826, and signed by Wm G. Dana, Wm II.
Cunningham, Wm Henderson, Diego Scott, Thomas M. Robbins, and Thomas
Shaw, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 19-20.
published in several works.
SMITH IN CALIFORNIA. 155
he wished, to follow the coast up to the Columbia via
Bodega. 6
The Californians supposed for a month that they
were rid of their overland guests; but at the begin-
ning of February 1827 some of them were seen at
different places, particularly near San Bernardino,
where Smith appeared on the 2d of February. There
he left a sick man, and thence he seems to have sent
a letter to Padre Sanchez by one of his men. The
letter, as translated at the time, stated as the reason
for return that the trappers in crossing a stream had
been attacked by Indians, who killed eight of their
number and stripped them of everything but their
clothes — a statement that would seem to be false,
though Smith bore the reputation of truthfulness. 7
At any rate, the trappers had tried without success
to cross the Sierra, and were reported to be in a desti-
tute condition. The two men to whom I have re-
ferred were, I suppose, Isaac Galbraith and Joaquin
Bowman, who were detained at the time for examina-
tion, and who remained in the territory. Orders were
issued to detain the whole party, but Smith had left
San Bernardino before the orders could be executed. 8
6 Dec. 30, 1826. Echeandfa reports Smith's arrival with 14 companions,
40 beaver skins, and many traps; also his visit to S. Diego and his apparent
good faith. St. Pap., Sac, MS., xix. 37-8. He enclosed Smith's diary to the
minister of war, and it may come to light some day. Smith himself, Excur-
sion, 210, says: ' Mon arrivtie dans la Haute-Californie excita les soupcons du
gouverneur, qui demeurait a San Diego. II me fit conduire devant lui; mais
plusieurs citoyens des Etats-Unis, notammcnt M. Cunningham, capitaine du
Courrier de Boston, ayant repondu de moi, j'obtins la permission de retour-
ner avec ma suite, et d'acheter des provisions; mais le gouverneur refusa de
me laisser cotoyer la mer en allant vers la Bodega. 1
7 The letter is not extant, and its purport only is given in one of Arguello'3
letters to the governor. It is possible that there is an error somewhere, and
that Smith in the original letter spoke of a fight in which he killed 8 Indians,
especially as 2 women are also said to have been killed. Smith himself, Excur-
sion, p. 211, gives no details nor even mention of having come in contact with
the Spaniards at this time. He says, in continuation of quotation of note G,
'I marched therefore e. and then n. e. (from S. Gabriel or S. Diego), keeping
at a distance of 150 to 200 miles from the coast. I went nearly 300 miles in
that direction,' through some fertile regions peopled by many naked Indians,
and 'having reached a river which I named Kimmel-che' from the tribe living
on its banks. I found beavers, etc. Here I remained some days; I intended
to return to Salt Lake by crossing Mount Joseph; but the snow was so deep
on the heights that my horses, 5 of which had died of hunger, could not ad-
vance. I was therefore obliged to re-descend into the valley.'
8 Letters of Santiago Arguello to comandante of S. Diego and to gov., with
156 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
When next heard of in May, Smith had moved
northward and was encamped in the country of the
Moquelumnes and Cosumnes. Padre Duran, of
Mission San Jose, accused the Americans of having
enticed his neophytes to desert, but Comandante
Martinez pronounced the charge groundless. 9 New
communications and orders to investigate passed be-
tween the authorities; and a letter came to Padre
Duran from Smith himself, bearing date of May 19th.
It was a frank statement of his identity and situation,
of his failures to cross the mountains, and of the ne-
cessity of waiting for the snow to melt. He was far
from home, destitute of clothing and all the neces-
saries of life, save only game for food. He was par-
ticularly in need of horses; in fact, he was very
disagreeably situated, but yet, ''though a foreigner
unknown to you, Reverend Father, your true friend
and Christian brother, J. S. Smith." 10
The next day after writing this letter Smith started
references to replies and other communications, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii.
33-7. Mention of Galbraith (Gil Brest) and the 'sick man' in Dept. Rec,
MS., y. 89, 115, also of Galbraith in Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. 16-17. Bow-
man is mentioned as one of Smith's men in Los Angeles, Hist, 19, by Mr
Warner, and there may be some mistake. The sick man may possibly have
been John Wilson, who was in custody in May as one of Smith's men. Dept.
Rec, MS., v. 45; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 29, 33. Cronise calls Gal-
braith's companion Turner.
9 May 16, 1827, Duran to com. of S. Francisco. 400 neophytes have been in-
duced to run away. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 27. May 18th, gov. orders Mar-
tinez not to rely wholly on reports of the Indians, but to send out scouts to learn
who are the strangers and what their business; also to demand their passports
and detain them until further orders. Dept. Bee, MS., v. 45. On same date
Rocha is ordered to institute proceedings against John Wilson, and take depo-
sition of Daniel Ferguson, with a view to find out the aims of the strangers.
Id. May 21st, Martinez from S. Jose to gov. The Americans had nothing
to do with the flight of the neophytes. Sergt Soto has been ordered to investi-
gate, find out what gente it is, not allow them to approach the missions, treat
them courteously, etc. A letter has been received from Smith to Duran,
which the latter would not receive, but which Martinez had had translated
and sent to Monterey for Hartnell to retranslate. The Indians say that there
are 12 of the strangers, the same who were at S. Gabriel, and they had killed
5 Moquelumnes in a fight. John Wilson, a prisoner at Monterey, has appar-
ently not been missed, and he says something of the party having come from
Boston in 18 months to make surveys and buy lands of the natives (?). Arch.
Arzob., MS., v. pti. 28-33.
10 May 19, 1827, Spanish translation of Smith's letter, in Dept. St. Pap. t
MS., ii. 18-19. English version, in Randolph's Oration, 313-14; and other
works. French version, in Frignet, La Cal., 58-60.
FIRST CROSSING OF THE SIERRA IN" 1827. 157
homeward with but two companions. This was the
first crossing of the Sierra Nevada, and the traveller's
narrative, though brief and meagre, must be presented
in his own words. "On May 20, 1827," he writes,
"with two men, seven horses, and two mules laden
with hay and food, I started from the valley. In
eight days we crossed Mount Joseph, losing on this
passage two horses and one mule. At the summit of
the mountain the snow was from four to eisdit feet
deep, and so hard that the horses sank only a few
inches. After a march of twenty days eastward from
Mount Joseph, I reached the south-west corner of
the Great Salt Lake. The country separating it from
the mountains is arid and without game. Often we
had no water for two days at a time; we saw but a
plain without the slightest trace of vegetation. Farther
on I found rocky hills with springs, then hordes of
Indians, who seemed to us the most miserable beings
imaginable. When we reached the Great Salt Lake
we had left only one horse and one mule, so exhausted
that they could hardly carry our slight luggage. We
had been forced to eat the horses that had succumbed." 11
There are no means of knowing anything about his
route; but I think he is as likely to have crossed the
mountains near the present railroad line as elsewhere. 12
Smith returned from Salt Lake to California with
eight men, arriving probably in October 1827, but
11 Smith, Excursion, 211-12. With the quotation given, the letter end3
abruptly.
12 Still it is not impossible or unlikely that in this trip or on the return
Smith went through Walker Pass, as Warner and others say, or followed the
Humboldt or Mary, as Sprague tells us; but the gold discovery on the way as
related by Sprague merits no consideration, in the absence of other evidence
and the presence of evident absurdities. It is to be noticed that Warner de-
scribes this crossing of the sierra by Smith and two men accurately enough,
except in date; and I think it probable that he has reversed the order of the
two entries to California, the first being by Mojave in 1826, and the second
by Walker Pass in 1827. On Wilkes' map of 1841, reproduced in vol. iv. of
this work, Smith's route is indicated, on what authority is not stated, by a
line extending s. w. from Salt Lake, and approaching the sierra on the 39th
parallel, with a lake on the line in long. 119°, and three streams running N.
between the lake and mountains. A peak in the sierra just n. of 39° is called
Mt Smith; and Mt Joseph is at the northern end of the range in lat. 41°.
This may all rest on accurate reports.
158 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
about the route followed or incidents of the trip noth-
ing is known. The Californians apparently knew
nothing of the leader's separation' from his company,
though the record of what occurred during his absence
is meagre. On May 23d Echeandia issued instruc-
tions, by virtue of which the fur-hunter was to be
informed that his actions had become suspicious, and
that he must either start homeward at once, come to
San Jose to enjoy the hospitality of California under
surveillance until the supreme government could de-
cide, or sail on the first vessel that could carry him
beyond latitude 42°. 13 According to fragmentary
records in the archives, it was supposed early in
August that the strangers had gone. In September
it was known that they were still present, and in
October several orders were issued that they be
brought to San Jose. It is not clear that any were
thus brought in, 14 but it would seem that on Smith's
return from the east late in October, he soon came,
voluntarily or otherwise, to San Jose and Monterey
with seventeen or eighteen companions. 15
The 12th of November Captain Cooper at Mon-
terey signed a bond in favor of his countryman. As
the agent of Steel, Park, and others, and in the name
of the United States, Cooper became responsible with
his person and property for the good behavior of Jed-
13 May 23, 1827, Echeandia to Martinez. Dept. Bee., MS., v. 48.
14 Gov. 's orders of Aug. 3d, Sept. 14th, Oct. 1st, 16th, in Dept. fiec, MS.,
v. 73, 88, 04, 102. Bojorges, Iiecuerdos, MS., 12-14, the only one of my Cali-
fornian writers who mentions this affair at all, says that Soto was sent out
with 40 men to the Rio Estanislao, and brought in all the trappers to S.
Francisco. As such orders had been issued, this is likely enough to be true,
though perhaps it took place after Smith's return. Oct. 8th, Isaac Galbraith
asks for an interview with Echeandia, wishing a license either to remain in
the country or to rejoin his leader. He also corrects an impression that Smith
is a captain of troops, stating that he is but a hunter of the company of Smith,
Jackson, and Sublette. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 3G-7.
10 The Spanish records make the number 17, which is probably accurate,
though records of a later event in Oregon speak of 18. Morincau, Notice, MS. ,
153-4, says that in October 1827 a caravan of 17 voyageurs arrived at S.
Francisco from New Orleans. They sold some furs to a Russian vessel,
bought horses, and returned by the same way they came. Carrillo, Exposi-
tion, MS., 9, says that in 1827 one of the hunters passed through the country
with GO men, reached the house of the comandante general, made plans, etc.,
and went away unmolested !
DEPARTURE OF THE TRAPPERS. 159
ediali Smith in all that concerned his return to Salt
Lake. In the document it was set forth that Smith
and his men, as honorable citizens of the United States,
were to be treated as friends, and furnished at fair
prices with the aid in arms, horses, and provisions
necessary for the return march by way of Mission San
Jose, Strait of Carquines, and Bodega; but there was
to be no unnecessary delay en route, and in future they
must not visit the coast south of latitude 42°, nor ex-
tend their inland operations farther than specifically
allowed by the latest treaties. To this bond Eche-
andia attached his written permission for Smith and his
company to return, with one hundred mules, one hun-
dred and fifty horses, a gun for each man, and divers
bales of provisions and other effects which are named. 18
Echeandia issued orders for a guard of ten men to
escort the trappers to a point a little beyond San
Francisco Solano, starting from San Jose; 17 but a
slight change must have been made in the plan, for
on the 18th the whole company arrived at San Fran-
cisco on the Franklin from Monterey. 18 This is really
the last that is known of Smith in California, where
four and perhaps five men of his party remained, be-
sides Turner who came back later. I have accredited
these men to the year 1826, though some of them
probably came in the second party of 1827. The
party doubtless left San Francisco at the end of the
year or early in 1828, and proceeded somewhat lei-
surely northward, probably by a coast route as in-
tended, 19 and not without some new misconduct, or
what was vaguely alluded to as such by the authori-
1G Ihave, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 171, the orginal of this interesting
document kept by Cooper. Three copies were made, one sent to Mexico, one
kept in the archives, and one given to Smith. It is written on paper provi-
sionally 'habilitated' by the autographs of Herreraand Echeandia. bears a
certificate of Jos6 Estrada, is signed John B a R. Cooper. Then follows the
autograph of the hunter. 'I acknowledge this bond, Jedediah S. Smith,'
and closes with Echeandia's pass.
17 Nov. loth, E. to coin, of S. Francisco. Deft. Pec, MS. v. 107. Louis
Pombert, a French Canadian, left Smith's party about this time and remained
in the country. Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. 25-8.
18 Arguello to gov. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 45.
19 Bojorges, Eecuerdos, MS., 14, says he left S. Francisco by water on an
100 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
ties. 20 While attempting to ford the Umpqua River
he was attacked by Indians, who killed fifteen of the
company and took all their property. Smith, Tur-
ner, and two others 21 escaped to Fort Vancouver.
McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company sent back
a party with one of the survivors to recover the lost
effects, in which they are said to have been success-
ful. Jedediah Smith returned eastward by a north-
ern route in 1829, and two years later he was killed
by the Indians in New Mexico. I append part of a
map of 1826 purporting to show 'all the recent geo-
graphical discoveries' to that date.
An important topic, perhaps connected indirectly
with Jedediah Smith's visit, is the first operations of
the Hudson's Bay Company's trappers in California.
Respecting these operations before 1830, I have no
original and definite information, except that con-
tained in the statement of J. J. Warner, himself an old
trapper, still living in 1884, and an excellent authority
on all connected with the earliest American pioneers,
although he did not himself reach California until
the beginning of the next decade. 22 Warner states
American vessel. It is possible, but not I think probable, that such was the
case, one of the vessels being chartered to take him up the coast to or beyond
Bodega. Warner says Smith started up the interior valley, but on ac-
count of difficulties in the way, turned to the coast 200 miles above Ross.
The men who remained, besides Galbraith and Bowman, were Bolbeda, Pom-
bert, and probably Wilson.
20 Feb. 1, 1828, gov. to Martinez. Alludes to the abuses committed by
Smith. Dept. Rec, MS., vi. 178. Probably he had stopped on the way to
hunt and trap. June 20th, Cooper was thanked by J. Lennox Kennedy, U.
S. consul at Mazatlan, for his services in Smith's behalf; will send documents
to U. S. min. at Mexico. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 250. But May 6, 1829, he
was ordered as bondsman by gov. to pay $176 due from Smith. Dept. Rec,
MS., vii. 148. June 25, 1829, E. reports to the min. of rel. a rumor that the
Americans intend to take S. Francisco, apian which he ascribes to the advent
of Smith, Id., vii. 25.
n There is a discrepancy of one man in totals, but there is also a com-
pensating uncertainty about one of the men who remained in Cal. Cronise,
Nat. Wealth of Cal., 42, erroneously names two of the three survivors
Laughlin and Prior. Victor, River of the West, 35-6, names Turner and Black.
The particulars of the Umpqua fight belong to other parts of this series.
See Hist. Or. and Hist. Nor'thwest Coast. The map given herewith is copied
from one in Warren's Mem. In Pac. R. R. Repts, xi. pi. iii., being a reduction
from A. Finley's map of N. America published at Philadelphia in 1826.
22 War tiers Reminiscences of Early California, MS., 27-33. The author
McLEOD'S TRAPPERS.
1G1
that the party sent back from Fort Vancouver to
avenge Smith's disasters was under the command of
McLeod, and after recovering the stolen furs, traps,
and horses, was guided by Turner down into the Sac-
ramento Valley in 1828, where he made a successful
hunt. Returning northward, however, he was over-
taken by a snow-storm in the Pit River country, which
he was the first to traverse. 23 He lost his animals,
and was compelled to leave his furs, which were
spoiled by melting snow before they could be moved.
Map of 1826.
McLeod was discharged for his imprudence or for his
bad luck. Meanwhile the company had hastened to
despatch Ogden with another party of hunters up the
Columbia and Snake, to proceed thence southward
to Smith's trail, 24 by which he was to enter Califor-
represents the manager of the company as having driven a shrewd bargain
with Smith, and derived much profit from his disaster.
23 The McLeod River, generally written McCloud, was named by or in
honor of this hunter.
21 That is one of Smith's trails, probably the most northerly, though War-
ner makes it the earliest.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 11
162 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
nia, and thus get the start of any American trappers
that might be sent as a result of Smith's reports.
Ogden was successful in this movement, and entered
the great valley about the same time that McLeod
left it.- 5 He also obtained a rich harvest of skins
during his stay of eight months, and carried his furs
to the north by McLeod's trail. These were the
only visits of Hudson Bay trappers before 1832. 28
The visit of the Patties to California in 1828-30
is the topic next demanding attention. Sylvester
Pattie, a Kentuckian, lieutenant of rangers against
the Indians in 1812-13, and later a lumberman in
Missouri, joined a trapping and trading expedition to
New Mexico in 1824, with his son James Ohio Pat-
tie. The father was about forty years of age, and
the son a school-boy of perhaps fifteen. With their
adventures in New Mexico and Arizona for the next
three years I am not concerned here. More than
once they visited the Gila, and in September 1827
the elder Pattie was made captain of a company of
thirty trappers, organized at Santa Fe to operate on
the Colorado. 27 They reached the Colorado and Gila
junction December 1st, or at least the Patties and
six men did so, the rest having left the Gila, striking
northward some two weeks earlier. The eight of
Pattie's party were in a desperate strait. They un-
derstood from the Yumas that there were Christians
down the river, and started to find them, floating on
canoe rafts, trapping successfully as they went, and
25 It seems rather unlikely that this coukl have been accomplished so soon
as the autumn of 1828. Either it was in 1829, or Smith had reached Fort
Vancouver early in 1828, instead of in the autumn as has been supposed.
20 Similar versions of McLeod's and Ogden's expeditions, originating prob-
ably indirectly from Warner, but perhaps also from the recollections of other
old trappers, are given in the county histories, newspaper articles, and other
recent publications. See also J list. iV. W. Coast, i., this series. Cronise, Nat.
Wealth, 41, says that French Camp, near Stockton, was located by a party of
these trappers who encamped here from 1829 to 1838. In Humphreys' Letter
to Givin, 1858, p. 5, it is stated that Richard Campbell of Sta Fc came with
pack-mules from N. Orleans to S. Diego in 1827. I find nothing more on the
subject.
27 Tattie, Narr., 133, translates the passport given them.
PATTIE'S VISIT. 1G3
reaching tide-water the 18th of January, 1828.
They soon started back up the river, making little
progress, and February 16th, having buried their
furs and traps, they started westward across the
desert. After terrible suffering they reached Santa
Catalina Mission in Lower California the 12th of
March. Ten days later, by Echeandia's order, 2S they
started under a guard for San Diego, where they
arrived the 27th. The company included, besides the
Patties, Nathaniel Pryor, Richard Laughlin, Will-
iam Pope, Isaac Slover, Jesse Ferguson, and James
Puter, 29 most of whom sooner or later became per-
manent residents of California.
The narrative of James O. Pattie was subsequently
printed; from it I have drawn the preceding resume,
and I have now to present in substance that part of
it relating to California, introducing occasional notes
from other sources, and reserving comment until the
end. 30 On arrival at San Diego the strangers were
28 March 22, 1828, E. to com. of S. Diego. Eight armed men have ap-
peared at a frontier post with a guia of the N. Mex. custom-house as a
passport. Arrest them and seize their arms. Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 194; Battle's
Narr., 170.
29 All the names appear in the archives, in one place or another, though
Ferguson is not clearly stated to have belonged to this company. Joseph
Yorgens is named, perhaps a corruption of Ferguson's name, since War-
ner speaks of Ferguson, whom he must have known. Puter is mentioned
only once, and there may be some error about his name. Pattie himself
strangely names only Slover in his narrative, speaking also of a Dutchman;
and on the other hand, Pattie's own name appears only once in the archives.
30 Pattie, The Personal Narrative of James 0. Pattie, of Kentucky, during
an expedition from St Louis through the vast regions between that place and the
Par if c Ocean, and thence bach through the city of Mexico to Vera Cruz, during
journeylngs of six years; in which he and his father, who accompanied him, suf-
fered unheard-of hardships and dangers, had various conflicts with the Indians,
and were made captives, in which captivity his father died; together with a de-
scription of the country, and thevarlous nations through which they passed. Ed-
ited by Timothy Flint. Cincinnati, 1833. 8vo. 300 pp. The editor, a some-
what voluminous writer of works largely fictitious, claims not to have drawn
on his imagination, but to have changed the author's statement — apparently
written — only in orthography and by an occasional abridgment.
%The Hunters of Kentucky; or the trials and toils of traders and trappers,
during an expedition to the Pocky Mountains, New Mexico, and California, by
B. Bilson, New York, 1847, 8vo, 100 pp., is called by T. W. Field, see Sabiris
Dictionary, viii. 5G9-70, 'a reproduction of Pattie's narrative, which the
penury of the thieving writer's imagination has not empowered him to
clothe with new language, or interleave with new incidents;' yet this reprint
is much less rare than the original, and has been much more widely read.
From it at the time of publication many people formed their ideas about the
164 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
brought before Echeandia and questioned, the }^ounger
Pattie, who had learned a little Spanish in New
Mexico, serving as spokesman, and expressing his ideas
with great freedom on this as on every other occa-
sion when he came into contact with the Spaniards.
The governor believed nothing of their story, accused
them of being spies for Spain — worse than thieves and
murderers — tore up their passport as a forgery, cut
short their explanations, and remanded them to prison.
On the way they resolved to redress their wrongs by
force or die in the attempt; but their arms had been
removed, 31 and they were locked up in separate cells.
The father was cruelly torn from the son, and died a
month later without being permitted again to see him.
The cells were eight or ten feet square, with iron
doors, and walls and floor of stone. Young: Pattie's
experience alone is recorded, as no communication
was allowed. Nauseating food and continued insults
and taunts were added to the horrors of solitary con-
finement. From his grated door Pattie could see
Echeandia at his house opposite. "Ah! that I had
had but my trusty rifle well charged to my face !
Could I but have had the pleasure of that single shot,
Spanish Californians. In Harper 's Magazine, xxi. 80-94, J. T. Headley
tells the story of Pattie's sufferings, taken from one of the preceding works,
and erroneously called the first overland expedition to California. Cronise,
Nat. Wealth of Gal., 45, says, 'the particulars of Pattie's journey were pub-
lished with President Jackson's message to congress in 1836.' The subject is
vaguely and incorrectly mentioned in Greenhorn's Hist. Ogn, 36G; and Capron's
J list. (Jal., 37. Warner, who knew personally most of Pattie's companions,
gives a valuable account in his Reminiscences, MS., 33-7. The archive rec-
ords are much less satisfactory than in the case of Jedediah Smith; but I
shall have occasion to refer to them on special points.
31 Dr Marsh, Letter to Com. Jones, MS., 1842, p. 3, says they came to S.
Diego on a friendly visit, 'were well received at first, and shown into com-
fortable lodgings, where they deposited their arms and baggage. They were
shortly after invited into another apartment to partake of some refreshment,
and when they returned found that their arms had been removed, and that
they were prisoners. I mention this incident, trivial as it is, because I con-
sider it as a characteristic trait of the whole Mexican people. Gen. Echean-
dia in his own capital, with all his troops, could not take five American hunt-
ers without resorting to an artifice which would have been disdained by the
most barbarous tribe of Indians on the whole continent. These poor men
were kept in close confinement a long time. . .Two or three of the number are
still in the country.' Where Marsh got this version, which leaves even Pattie
in the shade, does not appear.
THE HUNTER'S TALE. 165
I think I would have been willing to have purchased
it with my life," writes the captive, and this before
his father died alone. No attention was paid to pleas
for justice or pity. Yet a sergeant showed much
kindness, and his beautiful sister came often to the
cell with sympathy and food, and even enabled the
prisoner to get a glimpse of his father's coffin as it
was hastily covered with earth. 32
Captain Bradshaw of the Franklin soon got Pattie
out of jail for a day by the 'innocent stratagem' of
pretending to need his services as an interpreter; and
with an eye to business, he made an effort to get per-
mission for the hunters to go to the Colorado and
bring the buried furs, but in vain. In the proceed-
ings against Bradshaw for smuggling, Pattie served
as interpreter; and later, by reporting certain orders
which he had overheard, he claims to have prevented
Bradshaw's arrest, and thus to have contributed to
the escape of the Franklin. 33 Seth Rogers, A. W.
Williams, and W. H. Cunningham are named as
other American masters of vessels who befriended the
young prisoner, and gave him money.
Echeandia himself also employed Pattie as an in-
terpreter, and at times assumed a friendly tone. The
captive took advantage of this to plead his cause anew,
to discuss questions of international law, and to sug-
gest that there was money to be made by sending
after the buried furs. At the first he had known that
every word of kindness pronounced by Echeandia
"was a vile and deceitful lie," and after repeated inter-
views he perceived "that, like most arbitrary and
cruel men, he was fickle and infirm of purpose," and
32 He calls the young lady Miss Peaks, and the couple may have been
Sergt Pico and his sister. A certain capitan tie armas is also mentioned as
of a friendly disposition, though he did not dare to brave the tyrant's rage.
The reference may be to Portilla or Ruiz. It is remarkable that Pattie came
so often into contact with the governor, and not at all with the comandante.
33 See preceding chapter for affair of the Franklin. Pattie's statements
that Bradshaw's trial was concluded July 28th, that the Franklin ran out of
the harbor in Sept., and that she fired a broadside at the fort, are so positive,
so erroneous, and yet so closely connected with details of his own affairs, as
to leave a doubt as to the accuracy of those details.
105 OVERLAND -SMITH AND PATTIE- FOREIGNERS.
thereupon proceeded to " tease him with importuni-
ties;" out under this treatment the general became
surly. "How earnestly I wished that he and I had
been together in the wild woods, and I armed with
my rifle!" writes Pattie. This could not be, but he
refused to translate any more letters, and the gov-
ernor, striking him on the head with the flat of his
sword, had him dragged again to prison to lie and rot.
The suggestion of profit from the furs had, however,
taken root; and early in September the prisoners were
released, allowed once more to see each other, and
promised permission to go to the Colorado, greatly to
their delight. "I was convinced that Mexico could
not arrav force enough to bringf us back alive. I fore-
saw that the general would send no more than ten or
twelve soldiers with us. I knew that it would be no
more than an amusement to rise upon them, take their
horses for our own riding, flea some of them of their
skins to show that we knew how to inflict torture,
and send the rest back to the general on foot." Pattie
was allowed to go to the mission to hire horses for
the trip; but at the last moment Echeandia remarked
that he could spare no soldiers to go with them. It
did not matter, they said, though it spoiled their plan
of vengeance. But the governor added that one must
remain as a hostage for the return of the rest, and
Pattie was the man selected. "At this horrible sen-
tence, breaking upon us in the sanguine rapture of
confidence, we all gazed at each other in the conster-
nation of despair;" but Pattie urged them to go and
follow their inclinations about coming back. They
came back at the end of September. The furs had
all been spoiled by the overflow of the river, and the
traps were sold to pay the mule-hire. Two of the six,
however, failed to return, having left their compan-
ions on the Colorado and started for New Mexico. 34
34 These two were probably Slover and Pope, since these are the only ones not
recorded as being in California in 1829. YVarner says Slover and Pope (with
Geo. 0. Yount, whom nobody else connects with this expedition at all) started
SAVED BY SMALL POX. 167
In the absence of his companions, Pattie, by advice
of Bradshaw and Perkins, 35 had written a letter to
Jones, consul of the United States at the Sandwich
Islands, imploring intervention in his own behalf, and
then he lay in his cell, harassed by continual threats
of being shot at as a target, hanged, or burned alive.
Soon came news from the north that the small-pox was
raging in the missions. Fortunately Pattie had a
small quantity of vaccine matter, and he resolved to
make the best possible use of his advantage. Nego-
tiations followed, which gave the young trapper many
opportunities to show what could be done by the
tongue of a free American citizen. In return for the
liberty of himself and companions, he offered to vacci-
nate everybody in the territory; refusing his own lib-
erty, refusing to vaccinate the governor himself,
though trembling in fear of death, refusing even to
operate on the arm of his beautiful guardian angel, the
Seilorita Pico, unless his proposition were accepted.
There were many stormy scenes, and Pattie was often
remanded to prison with a curse from Echeandia, who
told him he might die for his obstinacy. But at last
the governor had to yield. Certain old black papers
in possession of the trappers, as interpreted by Pattie,
were accepted as certificates of American citizenship,
and in December all were freed for a week as an ex-
periment. 33
from New Mexico with the company, but returned from the Colorado without
coming to Cal. There must be an error in Pattie's version of the departure
of these two men; for I find that on Nov. 11, 1828, Echeandia informed the
com. at Altar that he has issued passports to Pope and Slover, who started
from N. Mexico for Sonora, but lost their way and entered Cal. Dept. l\<r. y
MS., vi. 13. Pope came back some years later, and has left his name to Pope
Valley, Napa county, where he lived and died. May 1, 1828, E. had written
to the com. of Altar about the 8 Americans detained at S. Diego, whom he
thought it expedient to send back to the Colorado under a guard, that they
might go to Sonora according to their custom-house permit. Dept. Iiec, MS.,
vi. 9. July 5th, the gov. of Sonora writes to the alcalde of Altar on the sub-
ject, and presumes that the com. gen. has already issued the proper instruc-
tions. The captives are alluded to as suspicious characters. Pinart, Col. Doc,
tion., MS., 43.
35 Bradshaw had really been gone over a month at the time when these in-
terviews are said to have taken place.
SG It is implied by the writer that vaccination was a great mystery to the
Californians, and even to the Russians, which is absurdly inaccurate, and
168 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
It was deemed best to take no risks. By a false
promise to their friend, the capitan de armas, they got
their rifles and pistols on pretence of cleaning them,
and refused to return the weapons, which were con-
cealed in the thicket. Charles Lanir, the smuggler,
now made his appearance secretly, 87 and the trappers
determined to join him. Pattie with one companion
left San Diego Christmas night, and went down to
Todos Santos; but learning that Lansr had been ar-
rested, they returned. Their comrades were still at
liberty; no trouble was made by Echeandia about
their absence or the recovery of their arms; and in
January and February 1829, Pattie vaccinated every-
body at the presidio and mission. On February 28th
a paper was issued to each, granting liberty for a } r ear
on parole; 38 and Pattie obtained also a letter to the
padres, who were instructed to furnish supplies and
horses for the journey, and "indemnify me for my
services as far as they thought proper."
Pattie started immediately on his trip northward,
called at mission, presidio, and pueblo, and arrived at
San Francisco the 20th of June. He had vaccinated
forms a weak point in the narrative. It is not certain, however, that they
had any vaccine matter in their possession in 1828, nor is it evident that Pat-
tie could have kept that which he had from being taken. I suppose that all is
exaggerated for effect, but that Pattie may have been really employed to vac-
cinate. Early in 1829 a Russian vessel brought vaccine matter, and W. A.
Richardson was employed that year to vaccinate at the missions; and in 1821
the Russians had vaccinated 54 persons at Monterey.
37 See p. 139, this volume, for Lang's adventures.
38 Pattie's carta de seguridad of Feb. 28th is preserved in Dept. Rec, MS.,
vii. 89. It is as follows: 'Whereas, Santiago Ohio Pattie, who came into this
territory hunting beaver in company with other foreigners, without any
license whatever, in March of the past year, appears to be a North American
according to a custom-house permit given in New Mexico; and whereas, the
comandante of this place reports him not to be vicious but of regular conduct,
in the petition presented by Pattie on the 27th of this month for permission
to travel and remain in the country, there being no consul nor mercantile
agent of his nation, nor any Mexican bondsman, therefore I have determined
to grant him provisionally this letter of security, that he may remain and travel
in this territory for one year,' in accordance, so far as possible, with the laws
of May 1 and Mar. 12, 1828.
I have not found the papers of the other men under this date, but in a list
of Feb. 14th, Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. 44, Pryor, Puter, and Yorgens are
named, Pryor being already at S. Luis Key. He received a carta de seguridad
April 52th. Id., xix. 18-19. It is doubtful if any of them were kept in prison
after their return from the Colorado.
A TOUR OF VACCINATION. 169
in all 22,000 persons, 39 receiving from the padres cer-
tificates by which the value of his services was to be
finally estimated by a 'high dignitary' in the north.
After a week's visit to Ross, where everything pleased
the American, and where he received $100 for his
medical services, 40 he returned and presented his cer-
tificates to the padre at San Francisco. On July
8th John Cabortes, presumably Padre Juan Cabot,
presented the amateur physician a paper, by which
he gave him 500 cattle and 500 mules, with land on
which to pasture the same — to be delivered when he
had become a Catholic and a Mexican citizen. "When
I had read this," says Pattie, "I was struck dumb.
My anger choked me." But he soon recovered his
speech sufficiently to give the padre his opinion in
the matter, to say that he came from a country where
the laws compelled a man to pay another what he
justly owed him without condition of submission to
"any of his whimsical desires;" that as a protestant
he would not change his opinions for all the money
the mission was worth, and that as an American,
"rather than consent to be adopted into the society and
companionship of such a band of murderers and rob-
bers," he would suffer death. For this "honest and
plain utterance" of his feelings, he was ordered to
leave the house; and, keeping his rifle ready for any
one the priest might send after him, he bought a
horse for three dollars, and started for Monte El Hey I
At the capital Pattie shipped on an American ves-
sel, and for several months ploughed the Pacific,
touching at various ports. He does not name the
vessel, and he gives no particulars of his voyage, save
39 Strangely enough there is no record in the archives respecting the ravages
of small-pox or Pattio's professional tour; yet his statement is confirmed by
the fact that the statistical tables show an extraordinary number of deaths
this year among the Indians of all the northern missions. (See note 36.) Sta
Cruz, S. Jos6, and Sta Clara do not appear to have been visited at all. Here
in the extreme north only the few who had not had the small-pox were vac-
cinated.
40 He had seen Don Sereldo, as he calls the Russian manager, at S. Diego,
and had been implored to come to Bodega and administer his remedy.
170 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
of the first week's terrible sea-sickness. Back at Mon-
terey/ 1 he took a more or less active part, on both
sides, in the Solis revolt, to which event considerable
space is devoted in his narrative. 42 At first the trap-
per had contributed in a small way to the rebellion fund,
and had with difficulty been dissuaded from joining
the army of Solis in the hope of getting a shot at
Echeandia; but in the end he had become an ally of
his old foe, who on his coming to Monterey received
Pattie affably, and even listened with some patience
to a repetition of his long-winded arguments and com-
plaints. Yet notwithstanding the portentous aspect
of a document which Pattie had prepared by the' ad-
vice of the Hawaiian consul, Jones/ 3 for presentation
to the American minister at Mexico, Echeandia ven-
tured to doubt that his wrongs would be redressed,
though he granted a passport that he might go to
Mexico and try. Spending three days de fiesta at San
Carlos in company with Captain William Hinckley,
hunting otter profitably for ten days on the coast,
presenting his rifle to Captain Cooper, and writing a
letter of farewell to his former companions in the
south, Pattie sailed on the Volunteer May 9th, in
company with Solis and his fellow-prisoners, for San
Bias. At Mexico in June, at the office of Butler,
American charge d'affaires, he saw a communication
of President Andrew Jackson in his behalf. He was
honored by an interview with President Guerrero,
and had the pleasure of learning that Echeandia had
been recalled. I have his original letter of June 14,
1830, to friends in California, naming Lothlin (Laugh-
41 He says it was Jan. 6, 1830; but if there is any foundation of truth in
that part of the narrative which follows, it must have been about 2 months
earlier.
42 See chapter iii., this volume, on the Solis revolt, and especially Pattie's
version of that affair. His dates are all wrong; there are many absurd inac-
curacies built on a substratum of truth; and there is apparently deliberate
falsehood respecting his personal exploits in the capture of Solis.
43 Pattie says that this consul, John W. Jones, to whom he had written
from S. Diego, arrived at Monterey April 29th in his own brig from the
Islands. The reference is to John C. Jones, Jr., owner of the Volunteer,
which arrived at about this time.
PATTIE'S BOOK. 171
lin), Pryor, and Cooper, in which he explains that
'Kernal' Butler had been able to give no satisfaction,
but had advised him to seek redress from the Presi-
dent of the United States. The adventurer reached
New Orleans in August, and proceeding up the Mis-
sissippi, was soon introduced to Pev. Timothy Flint,
who was to make his name and fame more or less im-
mortal. 44
I have thus presented, with fairness I think, the sub-
stance and spirit of Pattie's narrative, though obliged
to omit many details, making no pretension to point
out minor errors, and perhaps failing to give a full idea
of the writer's bitter feelings toward his oppressors.
The subject is entitled to the space I have given it, on
account of the extraordinary nature of the adventures
recounted, the early date of the visit to California, the
extent of the author's travels in the territory, the fame
of his book, and the accuracy of many of his statements.
Yet from the spirit of the narrative, from the numer-
ous erroneous statements, and from my knowledge of
Echeandia's character, I have no hesitation in pro-
nouncing Pattie's complaints of i]l treatment grossly
exaggerated. This opinion is confirmed by those of
the company who remained in the country. Enter-
ing the territory without passports, the hunters were,
according to the unwise policy of Mexican laws, liable
to arrest. Presidio fare, and especially prison fare,
in California at that time, was even less congenial to
American hunters than was the narrow spirit of Span-
ish policy. Naturally they were disappointed at their
reception, and disgusted with their situation, but they
were not probably made the victims of any special
oppression. James O. Pattie was, however, a self-
conceited and quick-tempered boy, with a freedom of
44 Letter in Vallejo, Doc, xxx. 85. In 1883 a man whose name I cannot
recall, apparently trustworthy, while visiting my Library, stated that his wife
was a niece of Pattie, and that the latter had spent some time at her residence
in San Diego in late years, or at least since 1850. The man promised to ob-
tain from his wife a more definite statement on the subject, but I have not
received it.
172 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
speech often amounting to insolence, and unlimited
ability to make himself disagreeable. How far these
peculiarities, and the young man's connection with
the smuggling operations of Bradshaw and Lang,
may have provoked Echeandia to the infliction of
special penalties, I cannot say.
Thomas L. Smith, commonly called 'Peg-leg' Smith
— a well known character in many parts of California,
but chiefly in later times, who died in a San Francisco
hospital in 1866 — was one of the famous trappers and
Indian-fighters of this early epoch. He was at times
a companion of Jedediah Smith, and was the hero of
many wild adventures in various parts of the great
interior; but very few of his early exploits have ever
been recorded with even approximate accuracy of time
or place. He owes his position on this page to a re-
port that he came to California in 1829, a report that
I have not been able to trace to any reliable source. 4 ^
Engaged in trapping in the Utah regions, he came to
California to dispose of his furs. He was ordered out
of the country, and departed, he and his companion
taking with them, however, a band of three or four
hundred horses, in spite of efforts of the Californians
to prevent the act. Some accounts say that be visited
the country repeatedly in those early years, and we
shall find archive evidence of his presence a little later,
acting with the horse-thieves of the Tulares, and
known as 'El Cojo Smit/'
40
In the spring of 1828 the Mexican government
granted to Richard Exter and Julian Wilson 47 a pro-
45 The story is told in many newspaper biographical sketches published at
the time of Smith's death. I have before me the S. F. Bulletin, Oct. 20, 1SGG;
Nevada Daily Gazette, Oct. 25, 18G6; and others in Hayes' Scraps, Gal. Notes,
ii. 309-12.
46 As an item which I am unable to connect with any of the expeditions
particularly accredited to this period, I may notice a record of Nov. G, 1S29,
that five deserters from Upper California were captured on the frontier of the
peninsula, one of whom, an Englishman, stabbed a neophvte, and was shot by
another. St. Pap., Sac., MS., xiv. 10-11.
47 Exter, of Exter, Graves, & Co., Mexico, was connected with the General
EXTER AND WILSON. 173
visional license to bunt and trap in New Mexico and
California, as well as on the coasts for sea-otter. They
had asked for an exclusive privilege, which proposition
was reserved for consideration by congress. The ob-
ject in view was to derive a revenue from the territo-
rial wealth of furs, and by a contract with these for-
eigners to prevent the constantly increasing clandestine
operations of other foreigners, whom no revenue laws
could control. The idea was a good one. Such a con-
tract with a responsible and powerful company was
perhaps the only means by which Mexico could par-
tially protect her interests in this direction ; but there
may be some doubt whether Exter and Wilson pos-
sessed the requisite qualifications, since little is known
about them. It does not appear that the exclusive
privilege was ever conceded, 48 and nothing was ever
done under the provisional permit. Vallejo and Alva-
rado say that there was a strong feeling in California
against the scheme, and that when the two men came
to the country in 1829, strutting up and down as if
they owned it, Echeandia refused to recognize their
authority, and they went away in disgust.-
49
In January 1830 a small party — of Mexicans ap-
parently — came from New Mexico to Los Angeles
under the leadership of Jose Antonio Vaca; but of
their purposes and adventures we know nothing from
the fragmentary records. 50 A somewhat better known
Pearl and Coral Fishing Association of London, and there are several letters
from him to Hartnell, dated 1827, and not referring to the fur business, in
Vallejo, Doc., MS., xxix. 153-4, 163.
48 April 28, 1828, provisional license granted. Hunting parties must be
made up of at least two thirds Mexican citizens. Mexico, Mem. Eel., 1829, p.
22. Aug. 7th, the comisario communicates the concession to Herrera. Exact
accounts must be kept of number, size, and quality of skins. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., i. 106. Dec. 23, 1828. gov. announces the license
in Cal. , and says that the parties will be allowed to catch otter. Dept. Bee. ,
MS., vi. 162.
49 Vallejo, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 124-5; Alvarado, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 128-9.
Fernandez, Cosas de Cal, MS., 58-9, mentions their failure to get an exclusive
privilege, but says nothing of their having come to Cal.
™Dept. Bee., MS., viii. 14, 18, 69; Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Pref. y Juzg.,
MS., i. 31.
174 OVERLAND -SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
expedition is that of Ewing Young, the Tennesseean,
or Joaquin Joven as he was often called, who entered
the territory later in the same year from New Mexico
with a company of beaver-hunters of various nation-
alities. Warner says this party came by Jedediah
Smith's old trail, and found Ogden's Hudson Bay
trappers on the Sacramento. 51 After trapping for a
short time in the Tulares, Young moved north and
met the Indian alcalde of San Jose mission out on a
hunt for runaway neophytes by order of the padre.
The fugitives allied with the gentiles showed fight,
but eleven of the trappers aided the alcalde to defeat
the foe. Taking advantage of this service rendered,
Young, with three of his men, came to the mission
July 11th, showed his passports, explained his need
of horses, and departed after promising to return in a
week with furs to sell or to exchange for supplies. 52
There is no record that the hunters returned to
San Jose, though they may have done so; but at the
end of July three Frenchmen came to Monterey,
announcing their intention to return to New Mexico,
having left the company. 53 In October the hunters
were in the vicinity of Los Angeles, where the leader
had great difficulty in controlling them, and where one
man was killed. 54 It had been the intention to return
from the Colorado in December to sell furs and buy
51 Warner's Reminis., MS., 37-9. In Dept. St. Pap., ii. 84, 113, is Young's
passport of 1829 signed by Henry Clay.
"July 15, 1830, report of Jose" Berreyesa. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 135-9.
One of Young's passports was vis6d at Washington, March 20, 1828, by the
Mex. minister. It permitted the bearer to go into the interior.
53 These men were Francois Turcote, Jean Vaillant, and Anastase Curier.
Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cusl.-H., MS.,ii. 4-5. In a letter to Capt. Cooper of Oct.
10th, Young says that the Frenchmen, who owed him money, had mutinied,
and determined to stay in the country; but they had been forced to return
with the party. He also speaks of the fight with Indians, but indicates that
it was to recover stolen horses rather than to aid the neophytes. Valkjo, Doc,
MS., xxx. 135. Dec. 23d, Echeandi'a to alcalde of S. Jose\ Speaks of 4
Americans who had come to the rancho of S. Pablo and must depart at once.
There may be an error in this date. Dept. Pec., MS., viii. 134.
51 Warner says that James Higgins killed an Irishman known as "Big Jim.
Jose Antonio Pico reports the killing on Oct. 7th. He had orders to detain
Young, but his force was too small. Dept. St. Pap., Den. Pre/. yJuzg., MS.,
i. 97. Juan Higgins, probably the same, remained in Cal. for 5 or G years at
least. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 15G, 159.
FOREIGN RESIDENTS. 175
mules; but Young had lost confidence in his men, and
thought he would be fortunate to get safely home with
his company by the aid of the Americans. He in-
tended, however, to come back the following year. 55
There are several men named as bein^ in California
from New Mexico this year, some of whom may have
belonged to this party; but Young and Higgins are the
only ones known here later, unless Kit Carson may
have made his first visit at this time.
Of the foreign residents who came to California be-
fore 1826, about fifty are mentioned in the records
of 1826-30, a dozen or more having died or left
the country. Some of the more prominent, like Hart-
nell, Spence, Cooper, and Gale, have been noticed in
connection with commercial and maritime topics in
the preceding chapter. All, including new-comers,
were in this period as a class law-abiding citizens of
considerable influence in their new home. Many were
baptized, married, and naturalized. Space does not
permit the introduction of personal experiences and
achievements here, but the reader is referred to the
biographic sketches presented elsewhere in this work. 56
In respect of general policy toward foreigners, 57
there was little or no tendency in California to exclu-
siveness or oppression in 1826, as has been seen from
the commercial record, and especially from the privi-
leges allowed to Captain Beechey, in contrast with
the treatment of Vancouver at an earlier date and
under another regime. Yet the Mexican laws were
strict in requiring foreigners to show passports, and
submit to surveillance; hence the precautions taken
in the case of Jedediah Smith and his company;
hence certain orders for the arrest of deserting sailors.
55 Young to Cooper. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxx. 135.
56 See alphabetical register of pioneers at end of vol. ii.-v. Also a list of pio-
neers who came before 1830, at the end of vol. ii. of this work.
57 Aug., Dec. 182C, orders of sup c govt against admission of foreigners
without passports circulated by gov. and comandantes. S. Jose, Arch., MS.,
vi. 25; Dept. Rec, MS., iv. 25.
176 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
Of new-comers for 1826, about sixty are named. It is
not easy to decide exactly which of these are entitled
to the name of pioneers, nor is it necessary, because I
shall mention them all elsewhere. Here I name only
such as remained in the country several years at least,
traders who came often during a series of years and
became well known to the people, men who though
visitors now became permanent residents later, and
men who died in California. Such for this year
number twenty-five. 5S The most prominent names
are those of Dana, Fitch, and Wilson; but ten or
twelve lived long in the country and were well
known.
In 1827 the general orders from Mexico promul-
gated by Echeandia, and more or less fully enforced,
were to insist on passports, to keep a strict watch,
render a monthly account of new arrivals, grant no
lands to foreigners, and by no means to allow them to
form settlements on coast or islands. 59 On the inter-
cession of the English charge d'affaires in Mexico, the
local authorities were empowered to extend the pass-
ports of English residents for one year, while the
papers of other foreigners might be extended so as to
allow them time to make a regular application for re-
newal. 60 My list of newly arrived pioneers for the
year contains twelve names, the total number, includ-
ing visitors, being about thirty. 61 John Temple and
58 For complete lists see Pioneer Register at end of these volumes. The
pioneers of 1826 were the following: Louis Bolbeda, Joaquin Bowman, Michael
Charles, Wm H. Cunningham, Wm G. Dana, Henry D. Fitch, Guy F. Fling,
Benj. Foxen, Isaac Galbraith, Cornelius A. Johnson, John Littleton, Wm
Logan, Thomas B. Park, Joaquin Pereira, Louis Pombert, John Read (?), Geo.
J. Rice, James Scott, Joseph Steele, Wm Trevethan, John S. Turner, Geo.
W. Vincent, John Wilson, John Wilson (trapper), and John H. Wilson the
negro.
59 Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., iv. lj Dept. Bee, MS., v. 19, 53, 95; Dept.
St. Pap., S. Josi, MS., v. 12.
C0 St. Pap., Sac, MS., xvi. 1-3; Dept. Pec, MS., vi. 175. Barron and
Forbes at Tepic were at this time pumping Bandini and Hartnell for informa-
tion about California, and projecting a visit. Oct. 17, 1827, Eustacio Bar-
ron to Bandini. Bandini, Doc. , MS. , 7.
C1 See Pioneer Register at end of these volumes. Pioneers of 1827: Miguel
Allen (born in Cal.), John Bradshaw, Geo. Coleman, Nicolas Dodero, Robt J.
Elwell, John A. C. Holmes, Giovanni Glande, Joseph Jackson, John B.
Leandry, Jean B. Mutrel, William Smith, and John Temple.
REGULATIONS OF 1828. J 77
Robert J. El well became most prominent in California;
though Braclshaw, Holmes, and Leandry were also
well known men. It was during this year that the
Californians were excited at the presence and actions of
Jedediah Smith's trappers, their first American visit-
ors by the overland route. As Smith arrived in De-
cember 1826, the names of his companions who set-
tled in the country have been included in the list of
that year, though they left the company of hunters,
and some of them arrived, in 1827.
Orders of the Californian officials in 1828 respect-
ing foreigners were of the same tenor as before; ap-
plications for naturalization were frequent; many
strangers wished to marry Californian wives. Bands
of trappers on the frontiers round about excited some
apprehensions. A few immigrants of Mexican blood
seem to have come in from Sonora, and all was faith-
fully reported to the minister of relations in Mexico. 62
In accordance with the decree o'f March 12, 1828,
which declared that no foreigner could remain in
Mexican territory without a passport, and regulated
the holding of property by naturalized citizens, 63 a
reglamento w^as issued by the president on May 1st
prescribing in detail the methods to be observed in
obtaining, granting, and using passports of various
kinds. This document was doubtless forwarded to
California later in the year. 64 I find about sixty new
C2 Dept. Pec, MS., vL 21, 27, 177, 192, 194; vii. 25; St. Pap., Sac, MS.,
x. 98; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. passim. The Americans celebrated July 4th
by burning much powder on the vessels at S. Diego.
c3 Mexico, Decreto sobre Pasaportes y modo de adquirir propiedades los
Estranyeros, 12 de Marzo de 1828. 12 articles. In Schmidt's Civil Laio of
Spain and Mexico, 346-51, in Spanish and English; Hayes' Mex. Laws, 81-2.
61 Mexico, Renlamento para el ramo de Pasaportes — decretado por el Presi-
dent 'e en 1 de Mayo 1S28. Printed copy in Pinto, Doc, i. 3. 25 articles,
numbered as 22. Also in Dept. St. Pap., Angeles, MS., ix. 30-6; and part of
it in Vallejo, Doc, MS. Omitting minor details, this regulation was in
substance as follows: The master of a ship, on arrival, must furnish a report
of his foreign passengers, and each passenger a report of his name, business,
etc., to the customs officer, who will grant a boleto de disembarco to such as
are not Spaniards, and have a passport from the general government, or from
duly accredited Mexican agents abroad, or a bond from the consul or agent
of their nation at the port of landing, or of a Mexican citizen. The boleto,
without which no foreigner could leave the vessel, must be presented within
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 12
173 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
names of foreigners in this year's records, several be-
longing to men whose presence is noted in consequence
of the regulations just mentioned, but about whom
no more is known than that they were here in 1828-9.
Pioneers proper number eighteen, as per appended
list. 6 ' Several of these became in later times locally
prominent; and one of the number, Henry A. Peirce,
is still living in 1884, beings in a sense the oldest living
pioneer within my knowledge, though he has by no
means resided continuously in California. Two or
three detected attempts at smuggling, together with
the presence of Pattie and his trappers from New
Mexico, were the leading topics of interest for 1828,
as far as foreigners were concerned.
In 1829 Echeandia continued to circulate the pass-
port regulations for the benefit of foreigners and of
local officials. He still received numerous applica-
tions for permits to remain, to travel, to marry, or to
become naturalized, and called for full reports of resi-
dent foreigners. 66 It is from these reports, and the
various certificates connected with the applications
above referred to, that I have obtained much of the
information presented elsewhere respecting individ-
uals; still the lists are incomplete, and have to be per-
fected from numerous scattered documents. 67 Eche-
24 hours to the civil authority of the port, who will vise" the passport. To
travel in the interior a carta cle ser/uridad for a year must be obtained.
Whatever passports a foreigner might have, he must present himself to the
civil authorities of any place where he intended to remain over 8 days, and
on each change of residence. Due provision was made for renewal of licenses,
penalties for failure to comply with the law, and for full reports to be sent to
the government.
° J Pioneers of 1828: Stephen Anderson, Louis Bouchet, John Brown (?),
John Davis, Jesse Ferguson, Richard Laughlin, Timothy Murphy, Sylvester
Pattie, Henry A. Peirce, Wm Pope, Nathaniel Pryor, Isaac Slovcr, Win
Taylor, James Thompson, Wm Warren (?) the negro, Edward Watson, Wm
Willis, and Julian Wilson. For biographical sketches, see Pioneer Register
at the end of vol. ii.-v., this work.
m Dcpt. Pec, MS., vii. 59, 86, 105, 176; Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. 20-2;
St. Pap., Sac, MS., xi. 4; ValUjo, Doc, MS., xxix. 310.
67 Naturalization records in Dept. St. Pap., MS., xix. passim. List of 48
names dated Feb. 14th, in Id., xix. 44. List of 44 Barnes in Monterey dis-
trict Feb. 16th, in Id., ii. 115. List of 7 names in S. Jose, Feb. 5th. Id.,
xix. 3. List of 7 at Los Angeles Feb. 14th, in Monterep, Arch., MS., vii.
24-5. Apparently 2 foreigners at S. F. Dept. St. Pap., MS., ii. 07-8. There
are no lists for Sta Barbara or S. Diego.
PIONEERS OF 1829. 179
andia heard this year and forwarded to the supreme
government a rumor that the Americans were plotting
to seize the port of San Francisco; while on the other
sMe of the continent we find a rumor from Mexico,
by w r ay of England, that California with Texas was
to be made over to the United States for a term of
years, as security for a large sum of money to be spent
in resisting Spanish invasion. 68 The new arrivals of
the year, as named in an appended list, were seven-
teen, 69 or about thirty-five including visitors, or men
about whom nothing more is known than their men-
tion in lists of the year. Prominent names are those
of Captain Hinckley, Alfred Robinson, and Abel
Stearns. Robinson still lives in 1884, with none to
dispute his title as the oldest pioneer, unless it be
Peirce of 1828, as already mentioned, or Michael
White, perhaps still alive, but about whose arrival in
1829 there is some doubt. The great excitement of
the year w-as the Solis revolt, in which, as we have
seen, the foreigners, though at first somewhat inclined
to sympathize with the movement as promising them
certain commercial advantages, later took a decided
stand in favor of the regular authorities, and contrib-
uted largely to the restoration of the capital.
In February 1830 the Mexican government* in reply
to reports respecting Abel Stearns and others in Cali-
fornia who were seeking lands, directed Echeandia to
distribute the public lands in accordance with the laws
to such foreigners as could comply with all the require-
ments, taking care, however, that the Russians and
68 June 25th, E. to min. of rel., in Dept. Bee, MS., vii. 25. Niks' Bccj.,
xxxvii. 87. The Joh/i Bull says: 'The proposition of America must not be
quietly listened to or tamely permitted; while we are earnest in our endeavors
to put a stop to the power of Russia, we must not forget the necessity of
checking the aggrandizement of America.'
w Pioneers of 1829 — the '(?)' indicates uncertainty about the exact date of
arrival: James D. Arther, Jas Breck, Walter Duckworth (?), James Flem-
ming, Wm S. Hinckley (?), Geo. Kinlock (?), Lawrence (born in Cal.), John
Meek, Manuel D. Olivera, Jordan Pacheco, John Rainsford, Alfred Robin-
son, Thos L. (Peg-leg) Smith (?), Abel Stearns, Chas A. Swain (?), Michael
White (?), and Geo. Williams. See biog. sketches of them and also of the
years' visitors in Tioneer Register at the end of these volumes.
180 OVERLAND— SMITH AND PATTIE— FOREIGNERS.
Americans should be the least numerous, and be located
in the central parts. 70 A little later, however, foreign-
ers of adjacent countries were prohibited from coloni-
zation on the frontier. 71 It is not certain that any
resident foreigner had yet obtained his final and com-
plete papers of naturalization; though a few may have
done so, and many had made application and complied
with all the preliminary requirements, receiving cer-
tificates which served all practical purposes. 72 New-
comers of this final year of the decade were fifty, of
whom twenty-four named in a note may be regarded
as pioneers proper. 73 The arrival of Kit Carson this
year is doubtful. Bee, Jones, Nye, Snook, and Young
were the names best known in the annals of later years.
Some details about all the men named in this chapter
and many visitors not here named may be found in
the Pioneer Register appended to these volumes. That
register will also serve as an index through which may
be found all that is recorded of any early Californian
in this work.
70 Feb. 2, 1830, Alaman to E. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., vi. 4.
71 Law of April 6, 1830, in HallecVs Report, 121-2. Article 7 of the law
of Aug. 18, 1824, was thereby repealed.
72 The naturalization regulations, probably of 182S, are given in Schmidt's
Civil Law of Spain and Mexico, 353-9, in Spanish and English. The general
purport had been circulated by Echeandia on June 4, 1829. Dept. St. Pap.,
MS. , xix. 20-1. These rules prescribed in substance that any foreigner of two
years' residence might, one year after having announced his intention, obtain
a carta de naturaleza from the gov. by renouncing all allegiance to any foreign
power, swearing to support the constitution and laws of Mexico, and presenting
proof in due form of Catholic faith, means of support, and good conduct. See
also the Mex. passport regulations of Oct. 12, 1830, in Arrillaga, Recop., 1830,
p. 474-99.
73 Pioneers of 1830; Henry J. Bee, John Burns, Kit Carson (?), James Cook,
Phil. H. Devoll, Juan Domingo, *William Duckworth, John Ebbetts, James
Harris, John Higgins, John C. Jones, *Geo. D. Kinlock, Laure, Allen Lewis,
Gorham H. Nye, *Juan Pombert, Sam. Prentice, John llice, John Roach, Ed
Robinson (?), Jos F. Snook, Sam. Thompson, *Francis Watson, and Ewing
Young. Those whose names are marked with a * were born in Cal., their
lathers being foreigners.
CHAPTER VII.
RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
1831.
Appointment of Victoria — Arrtval — Echeandia's Delay— Command Sur-
rendered—Beginning of a Quarrel — Golpe de Estado— Schemes
of Padres and Party — Victoria's Address to the People — Charges
against the Governor — Refusal to Convoke the Diputacion —
Memorials and Threats — Victoria's Manifiesto — Replies of Ban-
dini and Pico — Administration of Justice — The Death Penalty —
Case of Atanasio — The Robbers Aguilar and Sagarra — Execution
of Rubio — Exile of Abel Stearns — Victoria and Alcalde Duarte
of San Jose — Trouble at Los Angeles — Exile of Jose A. Carri-
llo — Jose M. Padres Banished — Plots of Carrillo, Bandini, and
Pico — Pronunciamiento of San Diego — Echeandia in Command —
Angeles Revolts— Fight near Cahuenga — Death of Pacheco and
Avila — Victoria Sent to San Blas — Rodrigo del Pliego — Action
in the North — Carrillo's Efforts in Congress.
Lieutenant-colonel Manuel Victoria was appointed
March 8, 1830, to succeed Jose Maria Echeandia as
gefe politico of Alta California, and three days later
official notice was sent to the incumbent. 1 Victoria
was then at Loreto, where for several years he had
been comandante principal of Lower California; but
nothing is known of his career on the peninsula, nor
of his previous life beyond the current and probably
accurate belief in California that he was a native of
Acapulco, and commandant there in 1825, who had
won his rank by personal bravery in the war of inde-
pendence. 2 Antonio Garcia had previously been
1 Supt. Govt St. Pap., MS., vi. 6-7. Victoria's appointment and Minis-
ter Facio's communication of Mar. 11th to Echeandia.
2 Com. at Acapulco 1825. Gac. Mex. , June 15, 1825. In June 1825, when
Victoria was about to lea\e Acapulco for Loreto, Enrique Virmond pro-
( 181 )
182 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
named to succeed Echeandia, and the substitution of
Victoria is believed to have been due to the success
of Bustamante in Mexico, and to Franciscan influ-
ence on the new administration. While there is no
positive proof of the Californian friars' intrigues in
the matter, yet Bustamante's revolution was widely
regarded as a reactionary movement in favor of the old
Spanish institutions. The padres were very bitterly
opposed to the mission policy of Echeandia, or of the
administration that he represented, and they openly
rejoiced at the new appointment as a glorious ' victory'
for their cause. 3
Having notified Echeandia of his coming, and
named a day for the transfer of office at San Diego,
Victoria started northward from Loreto by land in
the autumn of 1830, arriving at San Diego in Decem-
ber, or possibly in November. He was disappointed
at not finding either the governor or any message
from him ; but a despatch sent post-haste to the north
elicited from Echeandia a reply, to the effect that the
command would be turned over at Monterey, the
capital. A later despatch, however, named Santa
Barbara as the place, and thither Victoria went,
arriving the 31st of December. Here he remained
about three weeks, engaging in a sharp correspond-
ence with Echeandia, some of whose orders he coun-
termanded, though not yet legally invested with
authority; but at last he came to Monterey, and on
January 31, 1831, assumed the formal command, tak-
ing the oath in presence of the ayuntamiento, assem-
bled for the purpose. 4
nounced him, in a letter to Guerra, ' un sujeto de las mejores prendas. '
Guerra, Doc, MS. Osio, Hist. Cat., MS., 160-2, says he failed to gain the
confidence and esteem of the people in L. Cal. ; but not much importance is
to be attached to this statement.
8 See p. 108 this vol., with quotations from the statements of President
Sanchez on this subject.
4 Robinson, Life in Cal., 97, says V. arrived at Sta B. on J.in. 10th. The
rather meagre official correspondence on V. 's arrival and assumption of the
command is as follows: Jan. 14, 1831, V. toE., complaining of the delay in
turning over the office, and of the secularization decree. St. Pap., Miss, and
Colon., MS., ii. 35-6; Jan. 19th, V. to min. of rel., narrating all that had
A GOLPE DE ESTADO. 133
In explanation of the situation at the time of Vic-
toria's arrival, of Echeandia's strange conduct in de-
laying the transfer of command, and of the bitter
controversy that now began between the Californians
and their new ruler, I must here refer briefly to a
subject which will require full treatment in a subse-
quent chapter, that of mission secularization. The
reader is familiar 5 with the Mexican policy on that
matter, with Echeandia's investigation, experiments,
and difficulties in attempting to carry out his instruc-
tions, and with the action of the diputacion in the
summer of 1830 respecting a plan of secularization
which was submitted to the national government for
approval. Thus far proceedings had been strictly
occurred since his departure from Loreto, including the matter of seculariza-
tion. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., viii. 8-10; Jan. 19th, E. to V., in reply to
letter of 14th, reserving full explanations for a personal interview, but con-
plaining of V. 's conduct in opposing his acts without legal authority, and
announcing his intention to await his arrival at Mont, instead of inarching to
Sta B. as he had been ready to do. St Pap., Sac, MS., x. 76-8. Jan. 29th-
31st, summons to ayuntamiento, and E.'s announcements of having given up
the command. Id., xiv. 25; Dept. Pec, MS., ix. 89; Dept St. Pap., MS., iii.
5-6; Id., S. Jose, MS., iv. 94.
On the same topic a few extra-official statements may also be noted. Ban-
dini, Hist. Cal., MS., 72-3, tells us that V. on his arrival impressed the peo-
ple of S. Diego as a simple, unostentatious man with benevolent ideas — but
they were soon undeceived. Vallejo, Hist Cal., MS., ii. 137-8; Osio, Hist
Cal., MS., 160-2; Vallejo, Reminis., MS., Ill; and Alvarado, Hist Cal.,
MS., ii. 168, state that on his way V. called on P. Peyri, at San Luis Rey,
by whom he was most hospitably entertained, from whom he borrowed
$6,000 more or less, to whom he promised all that the friars desired, and who
at once wrote to his associates ' ya lo tenemos en el manguillo. ' No doubt
relations were most friendly between the two, but the authors named are
bitterly prejudiced against V. and all his acts. Vallejo and Alvarado say he
got large sums also at S. Juan and S. Gabriel — in fact, that avarice was one
of his weak points, and that the padres were willing to buy him. In his diary
of Ocurrencias Curiosas, 1.830-1, MS., Guerra notes the presence of V. at
Sta B. on Jan. 7th; declines to make predictions about his prospective rule;
but says he seems a great friend of Pacheco, has very judicious views on the
subject of missions; and in stature and flesh bears some resemblance to
Echeandia. Carrillo (J.), Doc, MS., 33. Mrs Ord remembers that V., instead
of lodging as was customary at the comandante's house, went straight to
the mission. Here Guerra went to call on the new governor, showing him
every attention, and presenting his daughter, the writer. Ord, Ocurrencias,
MS., 38-41. Osio, Hist Cal, MS.. 162-4, says that V. arrived unexpectedly
at Monterey, dismounting before the gov.'s house, and demanding, in an
abrupt and offensive manner, an immediate surrender of the office. Echean-
dia promised the transfer for 9 a. m. next morning, and V. went to S. Carlos
to sleep.
5 See chap, iv., this volume.
134 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
legal, and marked by no imprudent or hasty steps.
The friars, however strongly opposed to seculariza-
tion on general principles, had no just cause for com-
plaint against Echeandia. There was now, however,
a popular feeling in favor of the proposed changes far
in advance of Echeandia's personal views, and largely
due to the influence of Jose Maria Padres, the newly
arrived ayudante inspector. Padres was a man of
considerable ability, personally magnetic, and more-
over a most radical republican. He soon became a
leading spirit among the young Californians just be-
coming prominent in public life, intensified their nas-
cent republicanism, taught them to theorize eloquently
on the rights of man, the wrongs of the neophytes,
and the tyranny of the missionaries; and if he also held
up before the eyes of the Carrillos, Osios, Vallejos,
Picos, Alvarados, Bandinis, and others bright visions
of rich estates to be administered by them or their
friends, their } 7 oung enthusiasm should by no means
be termed hypocrisy or a desire for plunder.
But events in Mexico seemed to favor the friars,
and were not encouraging to the views of Padres and
his disciples. It is not apparent whether or not the
success of Bustamante or its bearing on Californian
matters was known in July and August 1830, the
date of the diputacion's acts; but when the day of
Victoria's arrival drew near, and no approval of the
plan came from Mexico, Echeandia was persuaded,
probably without much difficulty, to essay a golpe de
estado. Accordingly he issued, January 6, 1831, a
decree of secularization, which he took immediate steps
to carry into execution before turning over the com-
mand to his successor. Victoria was known to be
more a soldier than a politician, and it was hoped with
the aid of the diputacion in some way to sustain the
decree and reach a result favorable to the anti-mission
party. Echeandia's act was wholly illegal, uncalled
for, and unwise. It was simply a trick, and an absurd
THE GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. 185
one. The opponents of Victoria were thus in the
wrong at the beginning of the quarrel.
While at Santa Barbara Victoria heard of the de-
cree of January 6th and prevented its publication in
the south; while he reported the matter to the national
authorities, denouncing Padres, whom of course he
had known well in Baja California, as the real author
of the trick and as a man who was very dangerous to
the best interests of the territory. 7 In the north,
where the decree had been already published, the new
ruler took immediate steps to prevent its execution.
Nothing more need be said here of secularization, 8
but the wrath of the ayudante inspector and his
party may well be imagined by the reader, and will
be constantly apparent in the subsequent record.
Having assumed the command, Victoria issued the
1st of February an address to the people, a brief
document, in which the author made known to his
' beloved fellow-citizens' his purpose to reform the
evils that most afflicted the country, and his hope for
cordial support from the inhabitants. "The laws
must be executed, the government obeyed, and our
institutions respected," he writes; "I have to favor
honesty and to punish perversity, the first being in
accord with my character, the second demanded by
my honor and conscience." 9 All of this officer's com-
munications, or at least all that have been preserved,
were brief and to the point, showing the writer to be
more of a soldier than politician, and lacking some-
thing of the usual Mexican bombast. Of his personal
6 In a letter to the padres dated Nov. 18, 1832, E. says that V. factiously
removed him from the command, and that he gave it up to save the country
from disturbances (!), little thinking V. would 'audaciously prevaricate and
break his oath.' St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 61. To Figueroa, on
Mar. 19, 1833, he says that V. treated him with the greatest contempt in
matters of government. Id. , ii. 55. The only defence of E. and his friends
is the justice of their general views on the mission question and the Indians'
rights, which of course lias no real bearing on the matter at issue.
''Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., viii. 8-10.
8 The subject is fully treated for the years 1831-5 in chap, xi.-xii., this
volume, q. v.
9 Victoria, Manifestation del Gefe Politico de la Alta California d sus habi-
tantes, 1831, MS.
186 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
movements during the nine months of his stay in the
north, we know but little, except what can be gathered
from the dates of successive official documents to be
noticed incidentally in the record about to be pre-
sented. He is said to have gone to San Francisco
soon after taking the command, and subsequently to
have spent some time on different occasions at Santa
Clara. 10 In addition to his few letters on special
topics, the governor made in June a general report on
the industrial condition of California, a document
which presents no matter for comment. 11 Echeandia
retired to San Diego a few days after turning over
the office, but did not yet leave the territory, as we
shall see.
The annals of 1831, and of Victoria's rule, are con-
fined to the revolutionary movement by which that rule
was brought to an end, there being nothing else wor-
thy of notice in the records of the year, so far at least
as general history is concerned. The development of
the revolution may best be explained by presenting as
successive topics the several charges against the gov-
enor, which may be regarded as in a certain sense the
causes of the popular feeling on the subject, though it
is well to bear always in mind the chief cause, under-
lying all others as already shown. I begin with what
was in reality the most serious and best founded ac-
cusation.
10 Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 137-40, speaks of a party given in V.'s
honor at the house of Lieut Martinez, at which politics was more or less dis-
cussed. Amador, Mem., MS., 122, mentions a tour of inspection before
settling at the capital. Apr. 7th, Jose" J. Gomez writes to Juan Bandini that
V. had arrived at Monterey (from the north?) the day before, and was talking
of going south soon. S. Diego, Arch., MS., 18. Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS.,
iii. 7-8, tells a story to the effect that V. attempted to prosecute himself and
Jose Castro for the part they had taken in publishing the secularization
decree, authorizing Pliego, their enemy, to commence criminal proceedings.
But when summoned— so says A. — they rode up before Pliego's office on
horseback, refused to hear the documents read, and dashed off to Sta Clara.
V. subsequently treated them very well, however, giving them a profitable
license to take otter at S. Francisco.
11 Victoria, Informe General sobre California, 1S30, MS., dated June 7th.
A general report on government with recommendations of reform may also
be mentioned under date of Sept. 21st. Dept. lice, MS., ix. 14G-9.
REFUSAL TO CONVENE THE DIPUTACION. 187
Victoria neglected to convene the diputacion, and
even when urged to do so, flatly refused, greatly to
the disgust of the members and their friends, the most
influential element of the population. His conduct
in this respect was doubtless illegal as well as impoli-
tic, and gave the Californians just cause for complaint.
He knew, however, that the vocales were for the most
part the followers of Padres and the promoters of
Echeandia's golpe de estado, regarding their desire to
assemble as merely a continuation of the trick, and
supposing with much reason that the sessions would
be largely devoted to schemes of interference with his
own policy and measures. On January 29th, the day
of Victoria's arrival at Monterey, Echeandia had sum-
moned the vocales to assemble in the interests of pub-
lic tranquillity. 12 I have no doubt the plan was in
some manner to insist, with the aid of the diputacion,
on the carrying-out of the secularization scheme.
Efforts to convene that body were continued all the
spring and summer. At first the ayuntamiento of
Monterey, aided to some extent by that of San Jose,
was the medium of appeal, though the governor in
February assembled that body to explain how inop-
portune had been the petitions of Alcalde Buelna,
and warned the municipal authorities not to meddle
with matters that did not concern them. 13 The 30th
of July diputados Vallejo, Osio, Ortega, and Castro pe-
titioned the governor directly to convoke the assembly,
and apparently some of the southern members either
signed this petition or sent in another similar one;
but Victoria showed no signs of yielding. 14
12 Jan. 29, 1831, E. at the request of the ayunt. of Monterey in extra session,
to Jose Ortega, Tilmrcio Castro, M. G. Vallejo, and suplente Francisco
Haro in place of A. M. Osio. Dept. Bee, MS., ix. 88; Vallejo, Doc, MS., i.
216; Monterey, Ados del Ayunt., MS., 30-1. Probably a similar summons
was sent to other members.
13 Monterey, Ados del Ayunt., MS., 31-4, 38-40. Sessions Jan. 29th;
Feb. 5th, 18th; Aug. 3d, 4th. Also vague allusions in the proceedings against
Duarte, the alcalde of S. Jose\ Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., 14-51. Of
the Duarte case I shall speak a little later.
Xi The petition is alluded to in Leg. Bee, MS., i. 305-9, 332, but no de-
tails are given. On Aug. 24th V. writes to Alcalde Sanchez of Los Angeles*
188 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
The northern members repeated their petition Sep-
tember 11th, urging that the regular time for meet-
ing was March 1st, claiming that urgent business
required attention, and even threatening rather mys-
teriously, in case their request were denied, " to pro-
ceed according to law." 15 This brought out from
Victoria on the 21st an address, or manifiesto, to the
public. In this document he defined in a very straight-
forward manner his position, alluding to the criminal
motives and seditious plans of the opposing faction,
"personal interests disguised in the habiliments of
philanthropy," declaring his intention to thwart the
schemes of his predecessor, and reminding good citi-
zens that the way to prosperity and happiness lay in
the direction of submission to law, and not of sedition.
He stated that a majority of the diputados had been
illegally elected, that he had reported everything to
the national authorities, without whose orders he
would not convoke the assembly, and that he counted
on resources unknown to his enemies. 16 In a report
bearing the same date Victoria announced his suspen-
sion of the diputacion, and earnestly recommended the
abolishment of all elective ayuntamientos and the
restoration of military rule, except that certain judges
might be appointed for Los Angeles and San Jose. 17
This radical overturning of all civil authority seemed
a simple and effective measure to this honest soldier,
who felt that he could preserve order more easily if
'As you are probably on good terms with Pico, persuade him to withdraw
his petition for convoking the dip. . .It is my privilege to convene the assem-
bly when I find it necessary; and up to the present time it has not been so;
for I have just reasons which require me to await the decision of the sup.
govt on my inquiries.' /(/., i. 329-30. Sept. 7th, V. writes a very curt and
plain letter to Juan Bandini in reply to his of Aug. 7th. The subject is os-
tensibly financial matters, but it is apparent that Bandini was reckoned among
the enemies of the new gov. on general principles. Dept. Rec, ix. 43-3.
15 Petition dated S. Francisco, in Leg. Rec, MS., i. 330-2.
16 Victoria, Manifiesto d los llabitantesde California. 21 de Setiembre, 1831,
MS.; V<iUejo,Doc., MS., i. 245; Pico, Hist. Cat., MS., 3; Bandini, Doc, MS.,
1G. V. expressed like sentiments in a letter of Oct. 24th to the alcalde of
Los Angeles, copied in Leg. Rec, MS., i. 335-6.
17 Sept. 21, 1831, V. to min. of justice, in Dept. Rec, MS., ix. 146-9. The
writer claimed that there were few if any persons fit for alcaldes, and that
the offices were sought mainly for purposes of personal gain or revenge.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 189
the territory were made a mere military comandancia.
Small wonder, however, that the Californian republi-
cans were unprepared for such a change! The four
diputados, Vallejo, Ortega, Osio, and Castro, sent,
September 18th, a representation to Mexico, complain-
ing of the refusal to convoke the diputacion, of his
evident hostility to the federal system, and of several
arbitrary acts to be noted later. The 7th of Novem-
ber they sent another memorial in reply to Victoria's
manifiesto, in which they called upon the supreme
government to protect the people against the gov-
ernor's oppressive usurpations. 18 Juan Bandini, sub-
stitute congressman from California, also wrote a reply
to Victoria's proclamation, dated at San Diego Octo-
ber 10th, in which he refuted the charge of illegality
in the elections, and argued very eloquently against
the governor's right to deprive the country of the
services of its diputacion on account of mere suspicions
respecting the members. Pio Pico, senior vocal of
the diputacion, issued a similar protest. 1
1!)
The administration of justice was a subject which
early claimed the new ruler's attention. It had been
much neglected by the easy-going Echeandia, and
crime had gone unpunished. Criminal proceedings
had been often instituted, as we have seen in the local
presidial annals of the last six years, but penalties had
been rarely inflicted with fitting severity. Victoria
had strict ideas of discipline, and no doubt of his
ability to enforce the laws. He is said to have boasted
soon after his arrival at Monterey that before long he
would make it safe for any man to leave his handker-
chief or his watch lying in the plaza until he might
18 Copies of these documents in Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 215, 238, 241.
19 Bandini, Contestation d la Alocucion del Ge f e Politico D. Manuel Victoria,
1831, MS.; Pico, Protesta al Manifiesto de Don Manuel Victoria, 1S3 1, MS.,
dated Oct. 15th. Oct. 17th, J. M. Padrds in a private letter congratulates
Vallejo and the other deputies on their efforts to throw off the ugly epithet of
'seditions' applied by the gefe politico. He thinks the southern deputies
have failed to do their whole duty. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 239.
190 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
choose to come for it. How he carried out his ideas
in this direction will be apparent from a few causas
celebres of the year.
The case of Atanasio was pending when Victoria
came. Atanasio was an Indian boy less than eigh-
teen years of age, a servant in sub-comisario Jimeno's
office, who had in 1830 stolen from the warehouse
property to the extent of something over $200. The
prosecution was conducted by Fernandez del Campo,
Padres, and Ibarra as fiscales; and the last-named
demanded, in consideration of the youth and ignorance
of the culprit, as well as on account of the carelessness
with which the goods had been exposed, a sentence' of
only two years in the public works. The asesor, Ra-
fael Gomez, after having sent the case back to the
fiscal for the correction of certain irregularities, ren-
dered an opinion April 18th, in favor of the death
penalty; and by order of the comandante general
Atanasio was shot at 11 a. m. on the 26th. 20 Gomez
was an able lawyer, and I suppose was technically
correct in his advice, though the penalty seems a
severe one. Naturally the Californians were shocked;
and though an example of severity was doubtless
needed, Victoria was not fortunate in his selection.
The circumstance that led to the culprit's detection
seems to have been his using some military buttons
for gambling with his comrades; and the popular ver-
sion of the whole affair has been that an Indian boy
was shot by Victoria for stealing a few buttons. 21
In May 1831 the warehouse at San Carlos was
robbed on three different occasions, perhaps entered
three times the same night, by Simon Aguilar, a Mex-
20 Atanasio, Causa Criminal contra el Indio Atanasio y ejecucion del reo,
1831, MS.
21 Est6van de la Torre, Jose" M. Amador, Jesus Pico, Inocencia Pico de
Avila, Jose J. Vallejo, Juan B. Alvarado, and others give substantially this
version. I have no space for minor variations, most of which are absurdly
inaccurate. Osio, Hist. CaL, MS., 1G5-G, says that Gomez sent a despatch to
stay the execution an hour after the boy had been shot; and Vallejo, Hist.
CaL, MS., ii. 143, that Atanasio was a servant of Pliego, caused to be con-
demned by his master without the proper legal forms, and without any speci-
fication of the crime.
THE RUBIO CASE. 191
ican convict in the service of Gomez, and Ecluarclo
Sagarra, a native 'of Lima. A neophyte boy, An-
dres, furnished the keys, which he had managed to
steal from Padre Abella, the complainant in the case.
There was no doubt about the guilt of the accused,
and the fiscal, Rodrigo del Pliego, demanded for the
two men the death penalty, and for the boy, in con-
sideration of his being only thirteen years old, two
hundred blows. Gomez, the asesor, also decided that
Aguilar and Sagarra should be shot, and that Andres,
after witnessing the execution, should receive one
hundred blows, and be sent to the mission to work
for six months, wearing a corma. The sentences
were approved by Victoria, and executed May 28th
at the presidio of Monterey. 22
The famous Rubio case dates back to 1828. On
the night of August 15th of that year, Ignacio Olivas
and his wife, on returning from a fandango at San
Francisco, found their little daughter aged live years,
and son of one year, dead in their beds, the former
having been outraged and both brutally treated. The
soldier, Francisco Rubio, a vicious man who had been
convicted of serious crimes while serving in the mis-
sion escoltas of Santa Ines and Solano, w T as suspected
and arrested. The case was prosecuted in August
and September by Lieutenant Martinez, and the testi-
mony has been preserved. It was in evidence that
Rubio had learned by inquiry that the parents were
to attend the fandango without the children; that he
knew how to open the doors; that tracks about the
house agreed with his boot; that his clothing bore
22 Records of the case in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxxiii. 8-11. No-
tice of the execution in Dept. Bee, MS., ix. 25; Guerra, Doc, MS., v. 102.
Notices by P. Sarn'a of spiritual consolations and burial in the presidial cem-
etery of these two men, and also of Atanasio. Nos. 2784, 2892-3, in the
register of burials at Monterey, copied in Torre, Remin., MS., 25-6. Larios,
Convuldones, MS. ,11, witnessed the execution and the flogging administered to
the boy. So did Rafael Pinto, Apunt., MS., C-8, who was a boy at the time,
and who received a terrible flogging from his brother-in-law, in order that he
might never forget the day nor the solemn lesson taught by the event! Ama-
dor, Mem,., MS., 122-6, tells us that one of the padres interceded most
earnestly with Victoria for a pardon.
192 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
blood-stains at the time of his arrest; that he had
tried to sell his shirt during the night; and that many
of his actions had seemed strange and suspicious to
his companions. Beyond his own statements and
protestations of innocence, there was no evidence in
his favor, or against any other person. Though circum-
stantial, the proofs were strong; sufficiently so, I
think, to justify the severest penalty. The case, how-
ever, dragged its slow length along, with no percepti-
ble progress, as was usual in California, through 1829
and 1830. Pubio was nominally imprisoned, but
during much of the time seems to have worked as a
servant about the presidio, with abundant opportuni-
ties for escape. When Victoria came he intrusted
the prosecution to Jose Maria Padres, who began
active operations in May 1831. Alferez Vallcjo,
who had declined to serve as fiscal, now made some
efforts in behalf of Pubio; but his testimony and
that of others called in to substantiate it tended
merely to show irregularity in one of the former pro-
ceedings, and that another man, having been charged
with similar crimes at San Francisco, might be guilty
in this instance. No new evidence was adduced in
Pubio's favor. Pie was defended by Pliego, a friend
of Victoria, who on account of technical irregulari-
ties, and because no one had seen his client commit the
crime, asked only that some other penalty than death
should be imposed. Padres, an enemy of Victoria
and friend of Vallejo, expressed no doubt of Pubio's
guilt, but he also urged that imprisonment be sub-
stituted for death. Pafael Gomez reviewed the
testimony at some length, pronounced the accused to
be guilty, and recommended that he be shot behind
the house of Olivas. The sentence was finally ap-
proved by Victoria and executed August 1st, at 11.30
A. M. 23
The case of Pubio, as just related from the original
23 fiubio, Causa Criminal por Asesinalos y Estupro, lS2S~31 y MS.
A CAUSA Cl&LEBKE. 133
records, would seem to be a very clear one, respecting
which no blame could be imputed to Victoria; yet so
bitter was the feeling against that official, that the
execution has been almost uniformly regarded by
Californians as a judicial murder, stamping Victoria
as a blood-thirsty monster. The only reason for this
strange belief, in addition to the popular feeling fos-
tered by Vallejo and his friends, was the generally
credited rumor that after Rubio's death an Indian
confessed that he had committed the crime for which
the innocent soldier had suffered. I am unable to
say positively that this rumor, so confidently pre-
sented as truth by dozens of witnesses, was unfounded ;
but it may be noted that most persons speak indefi-
nitely of the guilty Indian; that the few who venture
on details of name, place, and date differ widely in
such particulars; and finally that the later confession,
if perfectly authentic, has no possible bearing on Vic-
toria's action. 24
Abel Stearns, an American but a naturalized citi-
zen of Mexico, who had been in California since
24 Besides being a partisan of Padres in the general controversy, Vallejo
had a personal grievance, arising from the fact that Victoria had condemned
him to 8 days' arrest for insubordination in refusing to serve as fiscal in
another case. Dept. Rec, MS., ix. 18-19. Vallejo, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 140-7,
says that he as prosecuting attorney informed Victoria that the signatures of
the witnesses against Rubio were forgeries; that he and Padrds offered to aid
Rubio to escape, but he refused; that the execution was an outrage; and that
the real culprit confessed the crime in 1833. Alvarado, Hist. CaL, MS., ii.
171, 183, iv. 81, regards the prosecution as a conspiracy against Rubio; and
both he and Vallejo state that great reverses of fortune overtook Lieut Mar-
tinez at the time of Rubio's death, and were commonly regarded as divine
punishments. Osio, Hist. CaL, MS., 165-72, gives some particulars, more
pathetic than probable, of the execution, and tells us that 6 or 7 years later
Vallejo at Sonoma learned that Roman, a neophyte of S. Rafael, had committed
the crime, and sent Sergt Piila to shoot him. Gabriel Castro in 187G gave
one of my agents a narrative in which I put no confidence, with minute de-
tails of the arrest and confession of Roman at S. Francisco, where he died in
prison of syphilis. Ignacio Cibrian also gave a somewhat different version.
In the evidence it appeared that a little brother of the victims said that a
fierce coyote had come and killed the children; and Amador, Mem., MS.,
122-6, implies that Rubio's nickname of 'Coyote' was the main ground of his
accusation. J. J. Vallejo, fiemin., MS., 112, tells us that Victoria was
moved by the counsels of the padres and by his hatred of Padres, who pro-
tected Rubio. The versions of Pinto, Pico, Weeks, Torre, and Galindo need
no special notice. None doubt that Rubio was the victim of Victoria's op-
pression.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 13
194 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
1829, was apparently a sympathizer with the party of
Padres and Vallejo; or at least he was so regarded by
Victoria. He had a land grant in the San Joaquin
Valley which required confirmation by the diputacion,
and he was therefore anxious for a meeting of that
body. This was his only offence, so far as I can as-
certain; but for it Victoria ordered him to leave the
country, refused to give or listen to any explanations,
and merely bade him present his claims and com-
plaints to the supreme government. The correspond-
ence began in February. In July, Stearns was re-
fused permission to visit San Francisco to attend to
his business affairs, and on September 23d his pass-
port was issued. He soon sailed from Monterey,
but did not go farther than San Diego, or the fron-
tier of Baja California.' 25 Nothing can be said in
defence of Victoria's arbitrary course in thus exiling
a Mexican citizen without trial or specification of
offence; but the provocation was I have no doubt
much stronger than it appears in the written record,
since Stearns was not a man disposed to submit quiet-
ly when his interests were threatened.
Another of Victoria's arbitrary proceedings was
that against Mariano Duarte, alcalde of San Jose, in
August and September. Duarte had, after consulta-
tion with Alcalde Buelna of Monterey, tried to in-
duce the ayuntamiento to petition for the convoking
of the diputacion. This was his chief offence, "one
which has a very strong bearing upon the present
political state of the territory," in Victoria's eyes ; but
there were others, brought forward by the other
municipal officers who disliked the alcalde, and in-
cluded in the investigation. Duarte had somewhat
* 5 Correspondence between V. and Stearns in Leg. JRec, MS., i. 321-9; Dept.
Rec., MS., ix. 102, 100-7. S. had, however, since Oct. 1830, a quarrel on
hand with Ex-alcalde Soberanes, for disrespect to whom he had been impris-
oned, and justly as the asesor decided. Monterey Arch., MS., i. 26-7. Sept.
14, 1831, V. to min. of rel., accuses S. of pernicious conduct, of plotting with
Padres to have the dip. meet, of trying to go to S. Francisco to join the
other plotters, and of being a vagabond dependent on Capt. Cooper. Dept.
Jiec, MS., ix. 145.
AN AMOROUS ALCALDE. 195
irregularly appointed certain regidores to fill vacan-
cies, and had taken from the municipal funds compen-
sation for teaching the pueblo school, whereas it had
been the understanding that he was to teach for noth-
ing — the estimated value of his services. Worse yet,
Duarte allowed himself to be inveigled into a trap
by his foes. A woman with more patriotism than
modesty was induced to send the alcalde an amorous
invitation, and he w T as surprised at her house by the
watchful regidores. Rodrigfo del Pliegro was sent to
San Jose to prosecute the case; and a little later
Duarte was brought in irons to Monterey to be tried
by a military court. There was no trouble in prov-
ing the truth of the only charge to which Victoria
attached much importance, that of laboring to secure
a meeting of the diputacion, and all went well for the
governor until the opinion of the asesor was rendered
September 30th. This opinion was to the effect that
the charges against Duarte had been substantiated,
but that in urging the ayuntamiento to cooperate
with others in demanding a convocation of the assem-
bly he had done no criminal act, and that as to the
other offences a military court had no jurisdiction,
and they must be sent to the supreme court in Mex-
ico. Victoria seems to have made no effort to con-
tinue the prosecution in defiance of law. 26
There was trouble likewise at Los Angeles, though
the alcalde of that town, Vicente Sanchez, was a
partisan and protege of Victoria, being a man more-
over who always had a quarrel on hand with some-
body. In January Echeandia, acting on the legal
advice of Gomez, had declared Sanchez as a diputado
not competent to hold the place of alcalde, ordering
that the first regidor take the place provisionally and a
26 Duarte, Causa Criminal seguida contra el Alcalde de S. Jose", Mariano
Duarte, 1831, MS. Lieut Ibarra was Duarte's defender, but his argument
wa3 devoted to showing his client to be an ignoramus. There is nothing in
the narratives of Californians on this affair that deserves notice, though
many mention it in their charges against Victoria. The decision of Gomez
on the legality of the case was subsequently affirmed in Mexico.
106 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
new alcalde be chosen. 27 There is no record of immediate
action on this order; but on April 18th the ayunta-
miento deposed Sanchez, putting Regidor Juan Alva-
rado in his place. At first Victoria did not object to
the change, but a few days later, probably learning
that it had been in some way in the interest of Eche-
andia's party, he discovered that the movement had
been a revolutionary and illegal one. So he wrote a
severe reprimand to Alvarado, ordered him to restore
Sanchez to office, and announced that he would soon
come down to Los Angeles to make an investigation.
The order was obeyed and Sanchez was reinstated. 28
In June, for reasons that do not appear, Victoria Saw
lit to revive the matter by sending Lieutenant Ar-
giiello to make investigations and administer rebukes.
The 21st of July he sent back the sumario that had
been formed by Argiiello, and ordered that the regi-
dores Alvarado and Perez, with six other citizens of
Los Angeles, should be put in prison. They were
never released by Victoria's order. 29
One of Alcalde Sanchez's quarrels was with Jose
Antonio Carrillo. The exact nature of the trouble is
not explained; but in March Carrillo was taken into
custody as a defrauder. He escaped, but gave himself
up to the comandante of Santa Barbara on March 21st,
and was kept in confinement there for some fifty days.
At the end of that time he was sent down to San
Diego, and immediately banished to San Vicente on
the frontier by Victoria's order. How Carrillo had
offended the governor is not recorded, but it is to be
27 Dept. Bee, MS., ix. 84-5.
28 April 21st, 23d, V. to Alvarado. Dept. Bee, MS., ix. 09-102. The com. of
Sta B. reports having felt some alarm when he first heard of Sanchez's removal,
but soon learned that no harm was intended. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 9-10.
April 25th, Alvarado to V., saying that Sanchez had been reinstated. April
2Gth, Sanchez to V., complaining of his wrongs at the hands of foes. Regi-
dor Jos6 Perez was arrested, but let out on bail. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Pre/.
yJuzg., MS., iii. 54-5.
™Lexj. Bee, MS., i. 307-8, 349-50; Dept. Bee, MS., ix. 108-10. The six
citizens were Tom.is Talamantes, Fi^aneisco Sepulveda, Jos6 Maria Avila,
Maximo Alanis, Demesio Dominguez, and Jose' Maria Aguilar. Capt. Bar-
roso took Arguello's place in August.
EXILE OF J. M. PADRES. 197
presumed that he had taken a prominent part in send-
ing memorials from the south in the interest of the
diputacion. He protested earnestly against his exile
in June and July, demanding an opportunity to re-
turn, under bonds, to vindicate his honor; but all he
could obtain was permission to move about from place
to place on the frontier without returning to Califor-
nia while his case was pending. Nevertheless he did
return, as we shall see. 30
Finally Jose Maria Padres, whom Victoria justly
regarded as the leading spirit in the opposition to his
measures, was summarily sent out of the territory
without form of trial. In all his communications the
governor had named Padres as the cause of the coun-
try's ills. 31 Early in the summer he had been sent to
San Francisco, where it was thought he could do less
harm than at the capital; but he continued his plot-
tings — so believed Victoria — in connection with Va-
llejo and several young Californians who were living
there ostensibly engaged in hunting otter. In Octo-
ber the order for his banishment was issued, and early
in November he was sent by sea to San Bias. 32 Of
course Victoria had no authority for such an act.
I have thus catalogued the acts of Victoria's admin -
30 Correspondence on Carrillo's case from March to August, in Voile, Doc
Hist. Cal., MS., 17; Leg. Bee, MS., i. 302-3, 313-20; Dept. Bee, MS., ix.
32; Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 14-16, 18; Orel, Ocurrcncias, MS., 43-4. Al-
varado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 169-70, erroneously says Bandini was banished
with Carrillo, and the two wrote a manifiesto, which was sent north. Some
one put a copy under Victoria's pillow, and a reward was offered for his de-
tection.
31 Particularly in his report to the min. of rel. of Sept. 21st, in Dept. Bee,
MS., ix. 149-52.
32 July 24th, Padre's at S. Francisco writes to Stearns, advising him to go
to Mex. with his complaints against V. Vallejo, Doc, MS.,i. 234. Sept.
14th, V. to min. of war. Says that P. was sent to Bodega to make an inspec-
tion : but that he talked very freely to the Russians against the Mex. and Cal.
govt. Dept. Rec, MS., ix. 144. Oct. 17th, P. congratulates Vallejo on his oppo-
sition to V. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 239. Oct. 19th, P. is to sail on the Catalina.
Nov. 8th, he is to sail on the schooner Margarita. Id. , i. 242; Dept. Bee , MS. ,
ix. 53, 61. Figueroa, Manifiesto, 3-4, speaks of P.'s influence in favor of re-
volt. Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 174-5, says P. left Monterey Dec. 8th,
and that V. before exiling him had tried to buy him off. Both this author and
Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 142-7, say that P. left Cal. vowing to oust V.,
and in possession of news from Mex. that made him think it would not be
very difficult.
198 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
istration, and they leave no doubt as to what manner
of man he was. Personally brave, honest, energetic,
straightforward, and devoted to what he deemed the
best interests of the territory, he was yet more a co-
man dante general than a gefe politico. His idea of
his duty was to preserve order and administer justice
by military methods, removing without regard to con-
stitutional technicalities such obstacles as might stand
in the way of success in carrying out his good intentions.
All the Californians in their narratives credit him with
personal courage, but with no other good quality, save
that a few admit he paid better attention to the com-
fort as well as the discipline of his soldiers than had
his predecessors. Nearly all, after mentioning more
or less accurately some of the acts which I have chron-
icled, express the opinion that Victoria was a cruel,
blood-thirsty monster, at whose hands the lives of all
honest citizens were in danger, some adding that he
was dishonest and avaricious as well, and others assert-
ing that he was a full-blooded negro. So strong is
popular prejudice, fostered by a few influential men. 33
There is a notable lack of missionary correspondence
in the records of 1831, and I find only one contempo-
rary expression of the padres' opinion respecting Vic-
toria's acts, except that of course they approved his
abrogation of the secularization decree. Padre Duran,
in the epilogue of his comments upon that measure,
33 1 shall give later references to all the Calif ornian writers who have treated
of Victoria's rule. Their sentiments are so uniform, that it is not necessary
to cite individual opinions. In the memorial of the diputados to the Mex.
govt of Sept. 18th, Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 215, 238, the charges against V. are
his exile of Carrillo and Stearns, his arrest of Duarte, his refusal to convoke
the diputacion, his general opposition to the federal system, and his insults
to diputados and inhabitants. A very complete r£sum6 of V. 's acts and trou-
bles, made up from his despatches and those of Echeandia and others, is found
in Alaman, Sucesos de California en el ailo de 1831, MS., the same being an
appendix to the minister's instructions to Gov. Figueroa in 1832. The whole
subject is also fully treated in Vallejo and Argiiello, Exx>ediente sobre las Ar-
bit rariedades de Victoria, MS., presented to the dip. on Feb. 17, 1832. To
the usual charges Bandini, Apuntes Politicos, 1832, MS., adds the sending of
some Angelinos far among the savages toward Sonora to drive stock for a
favorite padre of the governor's, tampering with the mails at Monterey, and
abrogating the faculties of hacienda employees to the prejudice of the admin-
istration.
PREJUDICE AGAINST THE GOVERNOR. 199
after affirming that the leading Californians aimed
solely at securing mission plunder and rejoicing at
Victoria's opportune arrival and suspension of the law,
wrote: "Interested parties, including some vocales of
the diputacion, sure of their prey, were disappointed,
and disappointment turned into hatred for the equi-
table Victoria. Never had they pardoned this just
chief for having rescued the booty already within
their grasp. They began to intrigue and hold secret
meetings, and for ten months of 1831 symptoms of
sedition have not ceased to keep the illustrious chief
in constant trouble. They sought to force him to
convene the diputacion, in order that with a semblance
of legality they might accomplish their desires, . . . un-
grateful for the sacrifices of the poor Indians; but Vic-
toria never consented; and in November they pro-
claimed a plan of attack." The foreign residents are
equally silent, 34 but I suspect that their views were
more favorable to the governor than the} r cared to
admit generally to the strong element opposing him.
The Californians have weakened their cause by their
unfounded and exaggerated attacks on Victoria's per-
sonal character, for politically the cause was a strong
one. Victoria went far beyond the authority of his
office, in refusing to convoke the assembly, in trying
an alcalde by court-martial, and in banishing Mexican
citizens without forms of trial. He was not in sym-
pathy with constitutional government; and his acts
were not to be defended by reason of the reactionary
character of the administration that appointed him,
the trick that was attempted by Padres and Echeandia,
the formidable opposition which forced him to a more
arbitrary policy than he would otherwise have shown,
or the promptness and frankness with which he sub-
mitted all to the national authorities. Perhaps his
proceedings might even have justified revolt after a
Zi Duran, Notas y Com., MS., epilogue, Spcnce, Hist. Notes, MS., 15,
merely says that V. was energetic and made every one respect order and law,
which did not please a certain class.
200 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
failure to obtain relief from Mexico. Under other
circumstances, Victoria might have been an excellent
ruler for California.
Thus far San Francisco in the extreme north had
been the centre of opposition to Victoria, but the
final revolt broke out in the extreme south at San
Diego. 35 Some prominent men of the north are of
opinion that the abajefios should not have all the
glory, but I fear there is hardly enough of it to bear
division. Jose Antonio Carrillo, supposed to be in exile
on the frontier, but who came secretly to the vicinity of
San Diego in November, was the real instigator of the
revolt, seconded by Abel Stearns, another exile; but
the active and ostensible leaders were Juan Bandini,
diputado suplente to congress and sub-comisario of
hacienda, and Pio Pico, senior vocal of the diputacion.
Bandini in his history gives but a general account of
the affair, but Pico enters into some detail, both of the
actual revolt and of preliminary movements. 36 After
ten or twelve days of preparatory plotting, Pico,
Bandini, and Carrillo, on November 29th/drew up and
signed a formal pronunciamiento, and that evening
3 -'Va\lejo, Hist. Gal, MS., ii. 142-7, and Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii.
172-3, state that the former, a member of the diputacion, was urged in letters
from leading men in the south to take the initiative in a revolution to over-
throw the tyrant. Vallcjo went to Monterey to consult with the other
northern vocales, bat found them timid about resorting to rebellion. On his
way back to S. F. he met V. at Sta Clara, and was offered by him all kinds
of official favors if he would abandon the party of Padres. This was just
before the exile of the latter, and V. had received alarming news of growing
uneasiness in the south.
86 Bandini, Hist. Cal., MS., 73-5; Pico, Hist. Cal, MS., 24-34. Pico says
that in the middle of Nov. his brother-in-law, Jose" J. Ortega, came down from
Monterey with news that V. was preparing to come south, and that he in-
tended to hang Pico and Bandini for their efforts in behalf of the diputacion.
He at once sent for J. A. Carrillo — also his brother-in-law — who came to his
rancho of Jamul; both came to S. Diego in the night and had an interview
with Bandini, and the three resolved on a pronunciamiento as the only means
of thwarting V.'s plans. It took about two weeks to perfect their plans and
to learn what men could be relied on. During this time Pico and Juan Lopez
made visits to Los Angeles to enlist the Angelinos in the cause. They found
that Alcalde, Sanchez had about 70 (some others say 30 or 40) of the citizens
in jail; but Avila and other leaders disapproved of any rising until V. should
have passed Angeles, when they would attack him in the rear, and the Die-
guinos in front, Finally they heard from Stearns a confirmation of V.'s
schemes a3 before reported.
PRONUNCIAMIENTO OF SAN DIEGO. 201
with about a dozen companions started out to take
possession of the presidio and garrison. Doubtless by
a previous understanding with the soldiers, no resist-
ance was made, though the forms of a surprise were
gone through, the arms and barracks secured, and the
officers placed under arrest. 37
Next day the soldiers gave in their adhesion to the
plan readily enough, but the officers, especially captains
Portilla and Argliello, showed considerable reluctance.
They shared the feelings of the rebels against Victo-
ria — so they said, Portilla perhaps not quite truth-
fully — but the}^ felt that for militar} 7 men in their
position to engage in open rebellion against their
comandante general was a serious matter. At first
they declined to do more than remain neutral under
arrest; but finally they were induced to promise
active cooperation on condition that Echeandia would
accept the command. What part Echeandia had
taken, if any, in the previous plottings cannot be
known; but after much hesitation, real or pretended, 38
he consented to head the movement. The plan,
slightly amended, was now made to embrace substan-
tially the following points : the suspension of Victoria,
the vesting by the diputacion of the political and
military command in separate persons, and the pro-
visional resumption by Echeandia of both commands
until such act of the diputacion or the decision of
the national government. This pronunciamiento was
37 Bandini says there were 14 men in the first revolutionary party. Pico
names, besides the 3 signers, Ignacio, Juan, and Jose" Lopez; Abel Stearns;
Juan Maria Marron; Andre's and Antonio Ibarra; Damaso and Gervasio Ali-
pas; Juan Osuna; Silverio Rios; another citizen, and a cholo to carry ammu-
nition. Pico says he was deputed to arrest Capt. Arguello, whom he found
at his house playing trcsiilo with his wife and Alf . Valle. He begged pardon
for the intrusion, presented his pistols, and marched the two officers away
to join Capt. Portilla, who had been arrested by Bandini. Valle, Lo Pasado,
MS., 3-5, like most of the California writers, mentions the arrest of himself
and the rest, but gives no particulars.
38 E. was a timid man, not inclined to revolutionary acts, and moreover
not in good health; therefore his reluctance to assume the responsibility of
such a movement; yet I hardly credit the statement of the Vallejos and
others that he refused the command until forced by Carrillo's threats to
accept it.
202 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
finally signed December 1st by Echeandia, the three
original signers, and all the officials, whose names I
give with a translation of the document. 39 The reader
39 Prommciamiento de San Diego contra el Gefe Politico y Comandante Gen-
end de California, Don Manuel Victoria, en 29 de Noviembre y 1 de Diciembre
de 1831, MS. Translation: 'Mexican citizens residing in the upper territory
of the Californias. If the enterprise we undertake were intended to violate
the provisions of the laws, if our acts in venturing to oppose the scandalous
acts of the actual governor, D. Manuel Victoria, were guided by aims un-
worthy of patriotic sentiments, then should we not only fear but know the
fatal results to which we must be condemned. Such, however, not being
the case, we, guided in the path of justice, animated by love of our soil, duly
respecting the laws dictated by our supreme legislature, and enthusiastic for
their support, find ourselves obliged, on account of the criminal abuse noted
in the said chief, to adopt the measures here made known. We know that
we proceed, not against the sup. govt or its magistrates, but, as we are deeply
convinced, against an individual who violates the fundamental bases of our
system, or in truth against a tyrant who has hypocritically deceived the
supreme powers so as to reach the rank to which, without deserving it, he
has been raised. The supreme being, master of our hearts, knows the pure
sentiments with which we set out: love to country, respect for the laws, to
obey them and make them obeyed, to banish the abuses which with acceler-
ated steps the actual ruler is committing against the liberal system. Such
are the objects which we call pure sentiments and in accordance with public
right. We will maintain this before the national sovereignty, and time will
bear witness against what the breaker of laws chooses to call sedition. From
the sentiments indicated may be clearly deduced the patriotic spirit which
directs us to the proceeding this day begun; and at the thought that such
sentiments are entertained by the people of Alta California, there is generated
within us a complete conviction that our indispensable action will be sup-
ported and therefore sustained by all who live in this unfortunate country.
As for the military officers in actual service, opposition is naturally to be ex-
pected from them to our plan, and we must allow them at first this unfavor-
able opinion demanded by their profession; but not so later, when they shall
have fully learned the wise and beneficent intentions with which we act; for
they also, as Mexican citizens, are in duty bound to maintain inviolate the
code to which we have all sworn. We believe that your minds are ever
decided in favor of the preservation of society, and your arms to be ready in
the service of whoever may assure happiness, and in support of the laws
which promulgate its representation. You are assured of the contrary spirit
shown by the chief authority of this California, and we begin, in manifesting
his criminal acts, with the infraction committed against the territorial repre-
sentation, which has been suppressed on pretexts which confirm his absolu-
tism, though you voted for the members to be the areas of your confidence;
the total suppression of the ayuntamiento of Sta Barbara; the shooting of
several persons by his order at Monterey and S. Francisco, without the neces-
sary precedent formalities prescribed by the laws; the expatriation suffered
by the citizens Jos6 Antonio Carrillo and Abel Stearns, without notification
of the reasons demanding it; the scorn with which he has treated the most
just demand which with legal proofs was presented by the very honorable
pueblo of Los Angeles, leaving unpunished the public crimes of the present
alcalde; and, not to weary you with further reflections of this nature, please
consider the attributes which he has assumed in the department of revenues,
making himself its chief, with grave injury to the public funds. Wo trust
that after you know our aims you will regard the removal of all these evils as
the duty of every citizen. We believe also that the public sentiment of the
territory will never attempt to violate our rights, or still less provoke us to
A WORDY PLAN. 503
who may have the patience to examine this state pa-
per, California's first pronunciamiento, if we except
that of the convict Solis in 1829, will find in it a good
make a defence foreign to our views ( !). The said ruler has not only shown him-
self shameless in the violation of law, but has at the same time imperilled our
security and interests by reason of his despotism and incapacity. You your-
selves are experiencing the misfortunes that have happened during the short
time of his management. For all these reasons, and with all obedience and
subjection to the laws, we have proposed: 1st, To suspend the exercise of D.
Manuel Victoria in all that relates to the command which he at present holds
in this territory as comandante general and gefe politico, for infraction and
conspiracy against our sacred institutions, as we shall show by legal proofs.
2d, That when at a fitting time the excelentisima diputacion territorial shall
have met, the military and political command shall fall to distinct persons as
the laws of both jurisdictions provide, until the supreme resolution. These
two objects, so just for the reasons given, are those which demand attention
from the true patriot. Then let the rights of the citizen be born anew; let
liberty spring up from the ashes of oppression, and perish the despotism that
has suffocated our security. Yes, citizens; love to country and observance of
the laws prescribed and approved by our supreme powers are the fundamental
basis on which we travel. Property is respected; likewise the duty of each
citizen. Our diputacion territorial will work, and will take all the steps con-
ducive to the good of society; but we beg that body that it make no innova-
tion whatever in the matter of the missions, respecting their communities
and property, since our object is confined solely to the two articles as stated.
To the sup. govt belongs exclusively the power to dictate what it may deem
proper on this subject, and it promises to the padres to observe respect,
decorum, and security of the property intrusted to their care. Thus we
sign it, and we hope for indulgence in consideration of our rights and justice.
Presidio of San Diego, Nov. 29, 1831. Pio Pico, Juan Bandini, Jose" Antonio
Carrillo.
'We, Capt. Pablo de la Portilla, etc. [see names at end], acquainted with
the preceding plan signed by [names as before, with titles], according to which
the people of this place surprised the small garrison of this plaza on the night
of Nov. 29th, consider it founded on our natural right, since it is known to us
in all evidence that the gefe politico and comandante general of the terri-
tory, Don Manuel Victoria, has infringed our federal constitution and laws in
that part relating to individual security and popular representation; and we
find ourselves not in a position to be heard with the promptness our rights
demand by the supreme powers of the nation, which might order the suspen-
sion which is effected in the plan if they could see and prove the accusations
which give rise to so many complaints. But at the same time, in order to se-
cure in the enterprise the best order, and a path which may not lead us away
from the only object proposed, we choose and proclaim lieut-col. of engi-
neers, citizen Jos6 Maria de Echeandfa, to re-assume the command, political
and military, of the territory, which this very year he gave up to the said Sr
Victoria — this until the supreme government may resolve after the proper
correspondence, or until, the diputacion being assembled, distinct persons
may in legal form take charge of the two commands. And the said chief
having appeared at our invitation, and being informed on the subject, he de-
cided to serve in both capacities as stated, protesting, however, that he does it
solely in support of public liberty according to the system which he has sworn,
cooperation for the best order, and submission to the supreme powers of the
nation. Thus, all being said publicly, and the proclamation in favor of Sr
Echeandia being general, he began immediately to discharge the duties of
the command. And in token thereof we sign together with said chief — both
the promoters of the plan who signed it and we who have seconded it — to-
204 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
many words. It was apparently the production of
Juan Bandini.
In a day or two the pronunciados, with about fifty
men under Portilla, set out northward, Argiiello be-
ing left behind in command of San Diego. The lit-
tle army arrived at Los Angeles December 4th, learn-
ing now, or perhaps the day before, that Victoria was
approaching from the north and was not far distant.
Of occurrences at the pueblo since the imprisonment
of eight citizens by Alcalde Sanchez at Victoria's or-
der, as already related, we know very little; but it
would seem that there had been further trouble,
and that more citizens, perhaps many more, had been
added to the eight in jail, Andres Pico being one
of the new victims. The captives were at once set
free by the San Diegans, and the obnoxious al-
calde, Vicente Sanchez, was in turn put in irons.
The Angelinos accepted the plan with great enthusi-
asm, and next morning the rebel army, probably num-
bering about one hundred and fifty, marched out to
meet Victoria, who at the same time started with
about thirty men from San Fernando.
The date of Victoria's departure from Monterey is
unknown, as are his motives, and most details respect-
ing his southward march. He must have started be-
fore the proceedings of November 29th could have
been known at the capital; but he probably was
warned of prospective troubles by letters from south-
ern friends. 40 Full of confidence as usual in his abil-
day between 11 and 12 o'clock, on Dec. 1, 1831. Jose Maria Echeandia, Pio
Pico, Juan Bandini, Jose Antonio Carrillo, Pablo de la Portilla, Santiago Ar-
giiello, Jose" Maria Ramirez, Ignacio del Valle, Juan Jos6 Rocha, and as com-
andante of the artillery detachment, Sergt Andres Cervantes. '
40 David Spcnce, Hist. Notes, MS., Robinson, Life in Cat., 118-21, and
Tu thill, Hist. Cat. , 131-4, state that Portilla was the man who warned Victoria,
urging him to come south, aud promising the support of his company, but
treacherously joining the rebels and leading them against the man lie had
agreed to defend. I think there was some truth in this charge. That is,
Portilla was a Mexican officer in command of a Mexican company, and natu-
rally a partisan of Victoria rather than of the Californians. He had a per-
fect right to warn the comandante, and very likely did so, intending to sup-
port him; but it would have required much more strength than he ever
possessed to withstand the movement of Nov. 29th; and the indications are
THE GOVERNOR MARCHES AGAINST THE REBELS. 205
ity to restore order, the governor set out with Alferez
Pliego and ten or twenty men, leaving Zamorano, his
secretary, in command at Monterey. Even on arriving
at Santa Barbara he seems to have got no definite in-
formation of the San Diego movement; but he was with
some difficulty persuaded by Guerra to increase his
little force before going to Los Angeles, and was ac-
cordingly joined by Captain Romualdo Pacheco and
about a dozen soldiers. 41 His entire force was now
not over thirty men, nearly all I suppose of the
San Bias and Mazatlan companies. He expected no
fight; but in case trouble should arise, he doubtless
counted on the aid of Portilla and his Mazatecos.
Before he reached San Fernando, however, messen-
gers overtook him from Santa Barbara with definite
news of the open revolt at San Diego, in letters from
the rebel leaders to the Carrillo brothers, which by
advice of Guerra they had forwarded to put him on
his guard. 42 At San Fernando on December 4th,
Padre Ibarra had not heard of the revolt at San
Diego, and a messenger sent in haste to the pueblo
brought back word from Alcalde Sanchez that at
sunset there were no signs of revolution. Later in
the evening, however, when the revolutionists arrived
from the south, releasing the prisoners and locking up
Sanchez, a brother of the latter is said to have es-
caped with the news to San Fernando. And thus next
morning the hostile armies marched out from the
that the captain was put in command on the march to Los Angeles mainly
that he might be watched. Several Californians state that it was only by the
vigilance and threats of Jose" Antonio Carrillo that Portilla was kept from
going over to the foe at the last. A contemptible weakness, rather than de-
liberate treachery, was Portilla's fault; besides, as we shall see, the valiant
commander and his men did no fighting when the hour of battle arrived.
41 The widow Avila, CosasdeCaL, MS., 29-30, states that provisions were
prepared at her house for Victoria's march, and that he left Monterey at dawn
with about 15 men. Gonzalez, Expericncias, MS., 29-30, and Ord, Ocurren-
clan, MS., 48-9, speak from memory of Victoria's arrival at Sta Barbara.
The latter says Guerra warned Pacheco to be careful. 'Cuidado! que
aquellos son tercos; alii esta Jose' Antonio Carrillo.' Spence says Victoria
took 10 men from Monterey; Robinson, that he reached Sta Barbara with 20.
42 Pico, Hist. Col., MS., 35-40. Pico's narrative of the whole affair is
remarkably accurate in every case where its accuracy can be tested, and is
therefore worthy of some credit where no such test is possible.
208 RULE AND OVERTHROW OE VICTORIA.
pueblo and mission respectively, the smaller force
starting earlier or moving more rapidly than the other,
since they met only a few miles from Los Angeles in
the direction of Cahuenga.
Exactly what occurred at this unnamed battle-field
on the forenoon of the 5th, so far as details are
concerned, will never be known. The salient results
were that two men, Captain Pacheco on the one side
and Jose Maria Avila on the other, were killed.
Victoria was severely wounded. Portilla's force re-
treated to Los Angeles and to Los Nietos, and the
governor was carried by his men to San Gabriel.
After a careful study of all the testimony extant, I
venture to present some additional particulars as
worthy of credence. Portilla with his 150 men had
halted on high ground to await Victoria's approach.
Carrillo of the leading rebels was with the army;
but Echeandia, Pico, and Bandini had remained be-
hind. Victoria, approaching with his thirty soldiers,
was urged by Pacheco not to risk an attack without
reinforcements and additional preparations; but he
promptly, perhaps insultingly, disregarded the cap-
tain's counsels. 43 He was brave and hot-headed, he
did not believe Portilla's Mazatecos would fisfht
against their comrades, and he attached little im-
portance to the citizen rebels. Biding up within
speaking distance, the governor was commanded by
Portilla to halt, and in reply peremptorily ordered
Portilla to come over with his soldiers to support his
commander and the legitimate authorities. Noting a
disposition to parley rather than to obey his order,
Victoria ordered his men to fire ; and some shots were
fired, perhaps over the heads of the foe, since nobody
was hurt. Portilla and his men now ran away, per-
haps after one discharge of their muskets, and the
Angelinos followed them; but two or three of the
43 Pio Pico, Osio, Mrs Ord, and others state that some sharp words
passed between the two officers, Victoria implying that Pacheco was moved
by fear, and the latter indignantly repelling the taunt.
BATTLE NEAR LOS ANGELES. 237
latter — who had been in the pueblo jail, had personal
grievance against Victoria, and were ashamed of
their companions' cowardice — made a dash against
the foe before retreating. Jose Maria Avila was at
the head of this party, and he first met Pacheco,
whom he shot in the back with a pistol as the two
horses were carried past each other by their impetus,
after mutually parried thrusts of sword and lance by
the respective riders. Pacheco fell dead with a bullet
in his heart. 44 Avila now rushed upon Victoria; To-
mas Talamantes was close behind him, and on the
other side at least two soldiers defended the governor.
Of the ensuing struggle, which probably did not
last three minutes, it is not strange that there are
many popular versions; but Victoria received sev-
eral lance-wounds. A soldier was shot in the foot.
Avila after a desperate resistance was unhorsed and
killed, shot perhaps by one of the soldiers, 45 and
Talamantes, the only one of the pronunciados except
Avila who came into contact with the foe, escaped
unhurt. Victoria's men attempted no pursuit, but
bore the wounded governor to San Gabriel. Had
it not been for his wounds, Victoria would have re-
** For a biographical sketch of Romualdo Pacheco, see local annals of
Sta Barbara later in this volume.
45 Jos6 Maria Avila was a native of Sinaloa, who came when a boy with
his parents, Cornelio Avila and Isabel Urquides, to Los Angeles. He was a
wild and reckless fellow in his youth, but dashing and popular, noted for his
skill in horsemanship. He amassed considerable property, and in 1825 was
elected alcalde of Los Angeles, though suspended for a despotic exercise of
power. On one occasion a citizen complained to Gov. Argiiello that he had
been arbitrarily imprisoned by the alcalde, who was called upon to explain,
as he did in the following language: 'My motive for putting this person in
jail was that I thought proper to do so; and because, besides that motive, I
had other grounds, in the stating of which a good deal of time would be con-
sumed; and since the man's complaint is only intended to take up your wor-
ship's time and mine, I close by stating that this is all I have to say, repeating
myself obedient to your superior orders. ' Carrlllo (J.), Doc, MS., 17-20.
A vila's late imprisonment by Sanchez at Victoria's order was the cause of his
special wrath against the latter. Dona Inocencia Pico de Avila, Cosas de
CaL, MS., 2S-30, says that Jose" Maria had a fight with one Nieto, and was
condemned in consequence to a long imprisonment. He came to Monterey,
staying at narrator's house, to induce Victoria to change the penalty to a
fine; but the gov. refused, and Avila went back very angry, vowing ven-
geance. As there is in the archives some reference to the troubles of Avila
and Nieto, this story may be accurate, though it is not clear how the former
could have left the jail to visit Monterey on such business.
208 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
taken Los Angeles without difficulty; and it is by
no means unlikely that he would have crushed the
rebellion altogether. Avila and Talamantes had de-
posed the governor of California; and others had con-
tributed nothing- more potent than words. 48
46 It would serve no good purpose to present variations of testimony on
each point of this affair, which would be pretty much equivalent to giving
seven eighths of the narratives in full; but I append some items from various
sources, interesting for one reason or another. The narrative of Juan Avila,
nephew of Jose" Maria, is worthy of especial notice as the testimony of an eye-
witness who is also a well known and respected man. He watched the con-
flict from a little distance, having been advised by his uncle to take no active
part. He, like one or two others, thinks that V. had advanced to Cahuenga
the night before. He designates the battle-ground as the Lomitas de la
Caiiada de Breita. His version of the fight agrees in general with that in my
text, except that he says nothing of Talamantes, and states that Portilla's
men fired first. His details after Pacheco's fall are as follows: Avila rushed
among the soldiers in search of V., whom he gave a lance-thrust in the side,
unhorsing him, but when about to repeat the blow was shot in the spine by
the Mazateco Leandro Morales, and was himself unhorsed. Pedro Guerrero
rushed up to kill him, but A. shot him in the knee with his remaining pistol.
V. was so near that A. , struggling on the ground, was able to grasp his foot
and throw him; but he rose again and killed A. with his sword. Avila,
Notas, MS., 11-15. Osio, Hist. Gal., MS., 178-89, gives a very full narrative.
His presentment of Portilla's grief at seeing the brave Mazatecos drawn up in
battle array against each other, of his fear that all V.'s men must inevitably be
killed in a bad cause, his orders to fire the first shot in the air, and the inter-
position of providence in the interest of an econoviia de sang re, is — though
given in sober earnest — amusingly absurd. Osio's account of the fight agrees for
the most part with the preceding, but he says that V. got one of his wounds
from Talamantes. He also mentions the absurd actions of a drunken man,
Francisco Sepulveda, who came up at the last moment. This writer gives the
impression that firing had continued, that the personal conflicts had taken
place in a shower of bullets, and that the rebels retreated only after the fall
of Avila. He is very severe in his remarks on their cowardice. Pio Pico,
Hist. Gal., MS., 35-40, states that Jose Antonio Carrillo warded off Pacheco's
sword-thrust with his musket, and mentions Talamantes' services. Bandini,
Hist. Gal., MS., 75-6, gives no particulars, but states that V. opened the lire
without consenting to give or receive explanations. In a letter written a few
days later, Echeandia says: On Dec. 5th the citizens of Los Angeles 'pro-
nounced with their ayuntamiento for the said plan, promising gladly to
sacrifice their lives and interests in its support. This promise they kept and
are keeping, for that same day Victoria, whom we supposed in Monterey, pre-
sented himself in the vicinity of the pueblo, and, without accepting any
arrangement or even discussion, opened fire, thinking to subject them; but in
vain, because, anxious for their liberty, they gave themselves up to death, and
succeeded in putting Victoria on the brink of death, since seriously wounded
he retired his force to this mission.' Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 245, xxx. 276.
Vallc, Lo Pasado, MS., 3-5, says it was Guerrero who killed Avila. Mrs
Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 49-50, says the report brought to Sta Barbara was that
Avila was wounded by Pachcco, wounded Victoria, and was killed by Isidore
Ibarra. Machado, Tiempos Pasados, MS. , 27-8, calls the place of the fight
Arroyo Seco. Amador, Mem. , MS. , 135-6, had heard from Francisco Alviso, an
eye-witness, that it was Victoria who shot Avila. Manuel Castro, Eel., MS.,
25-0, tells us that Avila went out by permission of the rebel leaders to fight
single-handed with Pacheco and Victoria! Steven C. Foster, S, Jose Pioneer,
SURRENDER OF VICTORIA. 209
There is little more to be said of the revolution or
other events of 1831. Some citizens who took no
part in the fight carried the bodies of Pacheco and
Avila to the pueblo, where funeral services were per-
formed next day. The fugitive residents had recov-
ered from their fright and returned to their homes,
while Echeandia with a part of Portilla's veterans had
also come to town from the camp at Los Nietos.
The wounded governor lay at San Gabriel, in danger
of death, as was thought, tended by Joseph Chapman
as amateur surgeon, and by Eulalia Perez as nurse, if
we may credit the old lady's statement. 47 His men,
with two or three exceptions, had adhered to the plan
or did so very soon; there was no possibility of fur-
ther resistance; and this very day, December Gth, it is
probable that he entered into negotiations through
messengers with Echeandia, and made a formal sur-
render. 43 On the 9th he had an interview with Eche-
andia at the mission, at which he asked to be sent to
Mexico, promising to interfere no more in the affairs
of California. The general consented ; and on the same
day wrote and despatched to the north several letters,
all of similar purport, in which he narrated all that
had occurred, explained his own connection with the
revolution, and summoned the diputacion to assemble
immediately at Los Angeles to decide according
to the plan on the persons to be intrusted with the
political and military command. 49
July 28, 1877, states that when the bodies were found, 'Avila still grasped
the lancc-staff with a death-grip, while the point had been driven through
Pacheco's body,' giving other inaccurate particulars. Many of the Calif or-
nians in their narratives simply state that there was a battle and Victoria was
wounded, and others say there was only a personal combat between Avila,
Pacheco, and Victoria.
47 Perez, Rccuerdos, MS. , 22. She says the most serious wound was in the
head, under the eye. Osio says that Charles Anderson was summoned with
medicines from S. Pedro. From later letters of V. himself it appears that
by the end of Dec. a troublesome discharge of blood from nose and mouth had
ceased, and all his wounds had healed except ono in the chest, which caused
him much trouble even after his arrival in Mexico. He had also many con-
tusions which were painful. Guerra, Doc, MS., iv. 180-3.
48 Bandini and Pico say there was a surrender on that day.
49 E. from S. Gabriel Dec. 9th to Vallejo, and to the ayunt. of S. Josi and
Monterey, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 245; xxx. 270; Dcpt. St. Pap., MS., iii.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 14
210 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
About December 20th, Victoria left San Gabriel. 50
On his way south he spent some days at San Luis
Xiey with Padre Antonio Peyri, who decided to leave
California with the fallen governor. Meanwhile Juan
Bandini at San Diego made a contract with John
Bradshaw and Supercargo Thomas Shaw of the Amer-
ican ship Pocahontas to carry Victoria to Mazatlan
for $1,GQ0 in silver, to be paid before setting sail; 51
and the exile, arriving on the 27th, went immediately
on board the ship, which did not sail, however, for
twenty days. I have before me an autograph letter
addressed by Victoria to Captain Guerra on the 31st
from on board the Pocahontas still in port, 52 in which
he expresses confidence that his own acts will meet
the approval of the national government, and that re-
lief for the ills that afflict California will not be lon<y
delayed. His wounds were rapidly healing, and bub
for grief at the fate of his compadre Pacheco and the
bereavement of the widow, he would be a happy man.
Pie urged Guerra to keep his friends the Carrillos if
possible from accepting the new plan. The vessel
sailed on January 17, 1832, with Victoria and two
servants, Padre Peyri and several neophyte boys, and
Alferez lioclrigo del Pliego. 53 On February 5th, hav-
20-1; St. Pap., Sac, MS., xii. 9. He seems to propose also that the different
comandantes should select a comandante general to act temporarily.
50 Dec. 21st, Echeandia from Los Angeles announces that V. has already
started for S. Diego to embark. Dept. St. Pap., S. Jose, MS., iv. 94; Vcdlejo,
Doc, MS., i. 251.
51 I have the original contract approved by E. on Dec. 27th, with the corre-
spondence of E., Bandini, and Stearns on the subject, in Bandini, Doc, MS.,
18-24, 27-30. See also Leg. Pec, MS., i. 194, 211, 297-8. The money— re-
duced to $1,500 by the fact that Pliego paid $100 for his own passage — was
borrowed from foreigners and other private individuals, except a small sum
obtained from the Los Angeles municipal funds. Stearns acted as agent to
obtain the money, and E. and Bandini became responsible for its re-payment.
It was paid over to Bradshaw on Jan. 11th. In February the dip. assumed
the debt, but asked for time, greatly to Bandini's annoyance. Of the final
settlement I know only that in Sept. 1834, Bandini acknowledged the re-
ceipt of $300 from the ayunt. of Angeles on this account. Dept. St. Pap.,
Angeles, MS., i. 148.
r ^Doc Hist. CaL, MS., iv. 925-7.
5:5 References to embarkation of the passengei'S and sailing of the Pora-
hontas in Bandini, Doe. J lis'. CaL, MS., 18-30; Id., Hist. CaL, MS., 70-7;
S. Josi Arch., MS., v. 40; Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 254; xxx. 230, 290; Guerra,
Vac, MS., iv. 180-1; Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 21-2. There was a report
EXILE OF VICTORIA. 211
ing reached San Bias, Victoria wrote a letter to the
Mexican authorities, in which, having told over again
the events of the past year, he proceeded to explain the
plans of Echeandia and the plotting diputacion. The
result must inevitably be the utter ruin, not only of
the missions, but of all the interests of California,
and there was great danger of an attempt to separate
the territory from Mexico. 54 July 10, 1832, he w T rote
again from Mexico to Guerra, stating that the gov-
ernment had at first intended to send him back to
California, but had changed that plan. The wound
in his chest still made his life miserable. He spoke
of his strict obedience, of his patriotism, and his sac-
rifices; and predicted that "the wicked are not to
prevail forever;" but he admitted having " committed
the fault of not knowing how to satisfy political pas-
sions or to act in accordance with party spirit." 55
At the time of writing the letter just referred to,
Victoria w T as about to start for Acapulco, where he
was on March 9, 1833; and that is the last I know of
him. I append no biographical sketch, because all
current in Mexico that V. had been shipped on the schooner Sta Barbara,
in the hope that she would be wrecked. Alaman, Sucesos de Cal. en 1831,
MS. For a biographical sketch of Padre Antonio Peyri, see the local annals
of S. Luis Rey in a later chapter of this volume. Rodrigo del Pliego came to
Cal. in 1825, his commission as alf^rez bearing date of Dec. 21, 1824. He had
previously served in the Tulancingo dragoons, being retired as alf^rez of ur-
banos in Dec. 1821. He was attached to the Monterey company from the
time of his arrival until August 1827; and then transferred to the Sta Bar-
bara company. He commanded a squad of the San Bias infantry company in
182G-7; made two minor expeditions against the Indians while at Sta Bar-
bara in 1828; and commanded 18 men of tne S. Diego company in 1830 at the
time of the Solis revolt. He returned to Monterey with Victoria in Jan.
1831, or a few months earlier; and served as prosecutor or defender in some
of the celebrated cases under V.'s rule. Hoja de servicios, in Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Mil., MS., lxxi. 18-20. In 1834 he seems to have been promoted in
Mexico to the command of the Sta Barbara company, but never returned to
Cal. Id., lxxix. 83. In 1828 he had been declared incompetent and ordered
by the min. of war to return to Mex. Dept. Bee, MS., vi. 12. Pliego was
detested by the Calif ornians, apparently without exception, as a cowardly
sycophant. No one credits him with any good quality; the official records
throw no light on his personal character; and the only thing to be said in his
favor is that the Californians, being bitterly prejudiced against him and his
friends, may have exaggerated his faults.
bi Alaman, Sucesos, MS.
55 Guerra, Doc, MS., iv. 183-4. Tuthill, Hist. Cal., 131-2, tells us that
Victoria retired to a cloister. Robinson implies the same. Alex. S. Taylor
somewhere says he died in 18G8 or 18G9.
212 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
that is known of him is contained in this chapter.
The Californians as a rule have nothing to say in his
favor; but the reader knows how far the popular pre-
judice was founded in justice. I have already ex-
pressed the opinion that under ordinary circumstances
Victoria would have been one of California's best
rulers. 56
Of political events in the south in 1831, after Vic-
toria's abdication, there is nothing to be recorded,
except that Echeandia held the command, both polit-
ical and military, and all were waiting for the diputa-
cion to assemble early in January. In the north the
news of the revolutionary success arrived about the
middle of December. San Francisco on the 19th, San
Jose on the 2 2d, and Monterey on the 26th, went
through the forms of adhesion to the San Diego plan. 57
5G The narratives furnished me by Californians, touching more or less fully
on V.'s rule, overthrow, and character — most of which I have already cited
on special points — are as follows: Oslo, Hist. Cal, MS., 1G0-89; Pico, Hist.
Cal, MS., 24-40; Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 136-59; Alvarado, Hist. Cal,
MS.,ii. 1G1-83; iii. 7-8,48-50; iv.81; Bandini, Hist. Cal, MS., 72-7; Amador,
Mem., MS., 122-8, 135-G; Avila, CosasdeCal., MS., 28-31; Id., Notas, 11-
15; Bee, Recoil, MS., 2-3; Boronda, Notas, MS., 1G-17; Castro, Eel, MS.,
23-9; Fernandez, Cosas, MS., G4-6; Gonzalez, Exper., MS., 29-30; Gallndo,
Apuntes, MS., 16-21; Larios, Convulsiones, MS., 11-13; Lugo, Vida, MS.,
14-16; Machado, Tiempos, MS., 26-8; Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 38-50; Perez,
Recuerdos, MS., 22; Pico, Acont., MS., 18-23; Pinto, Apunt., MS., 6-9;
Rodriguez, Statement, MS., 7; Sanchez, Notas, MS., 7-8; Torre, Reminis.,
MS., 22-30; ValdeS, Mem., MS., 21; Voile, Lo Pasado, MS., 3-5; Yallejo,
Reminis., MS., 109-14; Weeks' Reminis., MS., 73-4.
General accounts narrating briefly the events of V.'s rule, in Marsh's Let-
ter to Com. Jones, MS., 4-5; Robinson's Life in Cal, 118-21; Petit- Thoii'irs,
Voy., ii. 91; Wilkes 1 Narr., U. S. Explor. Ex., v. 174; Mofras, Exploration,
i. 294; TuthiWs Hist. Cal, 131-4, and Los Angeles, Hist., 13. Mr Warner in
the last work makes the revolution a local event of Los Angeles annals.
These different writers speak favorably or unfavorably of V. according to the
sources of their information, or to their bias for or against the padres and
Jose de la Guerra on one side and the Bandini-Pico-Vallejo faction on the
other. Tuthill seems to have taken the versions of Spence and Stearns in
about equal parts. Mofras speaks very highly of Victoria, because of his dis-
like for the Vallejo party. The version of Ilobinson, a son-in-law of Guerra,
has been most widely followed.
« Leg. Rec. , MS. , i. 348-9; Monterey, Actos del Ayunt. , MS. , 42-3. Vallejo,
Sanchez, and Pena signed at S. F. ; Leandro Flores for S. Jos6; and Buelna
and Castro for the Monterey ayunt. Juan Higuera and Antonio Castro, of
the ayunt., declined on Dec. 25th to approve the plan; but Castro changed his
mind next day, Higuera still needing more time to think it over. At Sta.
Barbara the plan was signed on Jan. 1, 1832, by Rafael Gonzalez, Miguel
Valencia, and Jose Maria Garcia; and it was approved by the ayunt. of Los
NORTHERN SENTIMENT. 213
At least certain officials, civil and military, are made
to appear in the legislative records of the next year
as having signed the plan, with remarks of approba-
tion on the dates mentioned. Rafael Gomez, the
asesor, apprehensive of personal danger to himself as
a partisan of Victoria, went on board the Russian
bark Urnp and tried to induce the captain to carry
him to Sitka; but as he had no passport, his request
was denied and he was set on shore at San Francisco. 53
The northern members, Vallejo and others, with Sec-
retary Alvarado, started late in December for the
south in response to Echeandia's summons to be pres-
ent at the meeting of the diputacion.
Minor local events, with general remarks on such
institutions and topics as are not very closely connected
with or necessary to a full understanding of general
annals, I propose to present once for all for the whole
period of 1831-40, at the end of this volume. An-
other class of general topics, more purely historical in
their nature, and more readily adapting themselves to
chronological treatment, such as mission affairs, com-
merce, foreign relations, and Indian affairs, I shall
group as before in chapters covering each a period of
five years, 5S) deeming this arrangement a much more
satisfactory and convenient one for the reader than
would be a more minute chronological subdivision. I
shall of course refer to these topics as often and as
fully as may be necessary to illustrate the annals of
any particular year; but for 1831 I find no need for
such reference, beyond what I have already said of
Angeles on Jan. 7th. Id. The pronunciamiento of S. F., Dec. 19th, is given
in Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 248. Next day the artillery company recognized
Echeandia. Id., i. 250. Vallejo, Hist. Cat., MS., ii. 152-3, claims to have
started for the south with a small force in response to a letter from J. A. Car-
rillo, before he heard of Victoria's downfall.
58 Certificate dated Dec. 22d, and signed by Zarembo, Khledmikof, and
Shelikof, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 310; Alvarado, Hist. Gal., MS., ii. 181,
implies that there were others besides Gomez who attempted to escape.
59 For the period from 1831-5, see chapters xi.-xiv., this vol.; and for
183G-40, see vol. iv.
214 RULE AND OVERTHROW OF VICTORIA.
secularization to show the cause of the popular feeling
against Victoria.
In addition, however, to what I have written about
the occurrences of 1831 in California, there remains
something' to be said of what was beinof done in Mex-
ieo for California, that is, of the labors of Carlos Car-
rillo, who had been elected in October 1830 to repre-
sent the territory in congress. 60 Don Carlos reached
Mexico in April 1831, after a flattering reception at
San Bias and at other points on the way, and he was
somewhat active in behalf of his constituents, in com-
parison at least with his predecessors, so far as we
may judge from his own letters. 61 He may be re-
garded as the representative rather of Captain Jose
de la Guerra than of the Californians, acting largely
on that gentleman's advice; but it would have been
difficult to choose a wiser counsellor. Carrillo com-
plained to the national government of the arbitrary
and unwise acts of the rulers sent to California, result-
ing to a great extent from the distance of the terri-
tory from Mexico. His proposed remedy was the
separation of the political and military power, which
should be vested in two persons, and his views on
this subject met with some encouragement from the
president and ministers, who even broached to Don
Carlos the expediency of accepting for himself the
civil command. California's urgent need for an or-
ganic law was presented, as also the necessity of estab-
lishing courts of justice, and regulating the adminis-
tration of finance. It was complained, moreover, that
a great injustice had been done in the promotion of
Mexican officers like Zamorano and Pacheco to cap-
taincies over the heads of Californians who had grown
gray in the service. Carrillo requested the territorial
diputacion to petition congress for the reforms for
60 See p. 50, this vol., for his election.
61 Carrillo, Cartas del Diputado de laAlta California, 1831-2, MS. There
"are 14 letters in this interesting collection, besides several of other years, all
to his brother-in-law, Guerra.
CARRILLO IN CONGRESS. 215
which he was working, including the appointment, or
rather paying, of two competent teachers. 62
Carrillo was a stanch partisan of the missionaries
in these days, reflecting in that respect as others the
sentiments of his brother-in-law, and therefore a large
part of his correspondence was devoted to topics else-
where treated. To the missions also was devoted, or
to a closely allied matter, his exposition on the pious
fund; 03 but this document merits at least a mention
here, not only as containing a somewhat fair present-
ment of the country's general condition and needs,
but as the first production of a Californian writer which
was ever printed in form of book or pamphlet. Don
Carlos was an enthusiastic admirer of his native prov-
ince, with great ideas of its destiny under proper
management. He thought he was rapidly communi-
cating his enthusiasm to the Mexican authorities, and
on the point of success with his proposed reforms.
Perhaps he was disposed to exaggerate his success;
for the only evidences I find of Mexican attention to
California at this time are a few slight mentions of
statistical or financial matters in the regular reports
of the departments.*
64
C2 Dep(. St. Pap., MS., iii. 169. ^
c3 Carrillo, Exposition dirigida d la Cdmara de Diputados del Congreso de
la Union por El Sr D. C&rtos A utonio Carrillo, Diputado por la A Ita California.
Sobre Arregloy Administi acion del Fondo Piadoso. Mexico, 1831. 8vo. 10 p.
Dated Sept. 15, 1831. This copy of a very rare pamphlet, the only copy I
have ever seen, was presented to me in 1878 by Doiia Dolores Dominguez,
widow of Jose" Carrillo, a son of the author. It has some slight corrections in
ink, probably by the author or by Guerra.
6i Mexico, Mem. fielaciones, 1832, p. 25, and annex, i. p. 11; Id. , Hacienda
1832, annex. M.
CHAPTER VIII.
AN INTERREGNUM— ECHEANDiA AND ZAMORANO.
1832.
The Diputacion at Los Axgeles — Action against Victoria — Attempts
to Make Pico Governor — Echeandia's Opposition— A Foreign-
Company at Monterey — Zamorano's Revolt — A Junta at the Cap-
ital — The News at San Diego — Sessions of the Diputacion — Los
Angeles Deserts Echeandia — Warlike Preparations — Ibarra at
Angeles — Barroso at Paso he Bae'Bolo — Indians Armed — Compact
between Echeandia and Zamorano — The Territory Divided —
Final Sessions of the Diputacion — The Avila Sedition — Who is
Governor ?— Affairs in Mexico— Carrillo's Efforts and Letters —
Choice of a Governor — Jose Figueroa Appointed — Instructions-
Mishaps of a Journey — Mutiny at Caph San Lucas — Waiting for
a Ruler.
The diputacion met at Los Angeles January 10,
1832. 1 Two subjects demanded and obtained almost
exclusively the attention of this body, the vocales
present being Pico, Vallejo, Osio, Ortega, and Ar-
gtiello, with Yorba later and Alvarado as secretary.
The first duty was a proper presentment of charges
against Ex-governor Victoria, as a defence of the late
revolutionary movement; and the second was to name
a gefe politico ad interim in accordance with the plan
indorsed by the leaders of that movement. I append
an abstract of proceedings at the meetings held in
January and February. 2 So far as the action against
1 Echeandia had on Jan. 5th sent out copies of the pronunciamiento of S.
Diego, with remarks in defence of that document, concluding by asking the
comandantcs' opinion on the provisional command. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i.
284.
2 Session of Jan. 10th, dip. met in the casa consistorial; the oath was
administered by Alcalde Dominguez; and Pio Pico, assuming the presidency
(21G)
DIPUTACION IN SESSION. 217
Victoria is concerned, I need add nothing to the ab-
stract, because the whole matter has been exhausted
in the preceding chapter.
In the matter of choosing a political chief trouble
arose unexpectedly. The action of the diputacion in
this respect had been very clearly marked out in the
as senior vocal, made a brief and modest address, congratulating the mem-
bers on their meeting to act for the country's interests after having been for a
year prevented from exercising their rights by the tyranny of Victoria. He
made the customary admission of his own unworthiness, etc., and asked the
aid of his associates in behalf of Cal. Pico's views having been approved,
committees were appointed, credentials examined, etc. In the afternoon,
Echeandfa's summons to the members, dated Dec. 9th, was read. (p. 173-8.)
Jan. 11th, after long discussion, in which the various charges were specified,
it was unanimously voted to confirm, or approve, the suspension of Victoria;
and Vallejo and Arguello were named as a committee to prepare a formal
expediente on the subject for the sup. govt. Then on motion of Vallejo the
diputacion proceeded in accordance with E.'s summons to choose a tem-
porary gefe politico, and it was decided according to the law of May 6,
1822, that Pico as senior vocal was entitled to the office. This action was to
be sent to E. for circulation. Voted, that according to the Mex. law, the sub-
comisario, Juan Bandini, was entitled to a seat. Voted to continue the ses-
sions at Angeles and not at S. Diego; but E. was to be invited to be present.
Voted, as to the military command, that E. should notify the different offi-
cers to choose a temporary comandante general, (p. 178-83.) Jan. 12th, 13th,
14th, 17th, 18th, routine progress by the committee on charges against
Victoria; Suplente Yorba takes the oath and his seat; Ortega and Osio named
as a committee to prepare a manifestation to the public; Vallejo granted
leave of absence for ten days to visit S. Diego, (p. 183-5.) Los Angeles
municipal accounts also considered in extra sessions of Jan. 14th, 17th, 23d,
27th. (p. 352-4.) Yorba's oath also in Los Angeles, Arch., MS., iv. 4G-7.
Jan. 17th, Ortega and Osio to Echeandia. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 26.
Jan. 23d, three letters received from the gefe politico provisional, Echeandia,
in which he announced Victoria's departure; asked for records of the earlier
sessions; and declared it impossible to leave his troops and come to Los
Angeles. Jan. 26th-27th, on the 26th, Vallejo proposed that the oath be
administered at once to Pico according to the law of Sept. 30, 1823; and as
all approved, ' without waiting for a discourse offered by Echeandia' (?), the
oath was administered by Vallejo, and Pico was formally declared gefe poli-
tico interino, the corresponding report being sent to E. and all territorial
authorities. Arguello thereupon made a speech, congratulating all on the
arrival of the happy day when Cal. was ruled by one of her native sons; and
Pico replied in fitting terms, (p. 186-9.) Pico, Hist. Cal., MS., 41-2, states
that when the oath was administered the necessary church utensils were
lacking, and the padre refused the keys of the church, whereupon J. B. Alva-
rado entered the church by a skylight for the missing articles, and the oath
was administered at the church door. Jan. 31st and Feb. 1st, E. writes to
Pico acknowledging receipt of actas of Jan. 10th and 26th-27th, giving some
advice respecting the policy of the new gefe, and expressing some dissatis-
faction with Pico's appointment. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 27-38. Feb. 3d,
a letter was received from Bandini, and the matter of his taking a seat it
was decided to refer to the sup. govt. Letters from Echeandia were intro-
duced (those referred to above\, in which, with some suggestions on policy,
powers, etc., he complains of having been 'violently,' or hastily, deprived of
the office of gefe politico. Osio and Yorba were named as a committee to
report on the suggestions, relating among other things to pay of a secretary,
218 AN INTERREGNUM— ECHEAXDIA AND ZAMORANO.
plan of San Diego and in Echeandia's summons to the
members, and accordingly on January 11th Pio Pico,
the senior vocal, was chosen to fill the position.
Echeandia was duly notified, and at first expressed no
dissatisfaction, though he seems to have wished the
diputacion to adjourn to meet in the south, while that
etc. ; and as to the complaints, it was decided that action had not been at all
hasty or irregular, nor had it been necessary to wait for the presence of E.
before swearing in Pico. Ortega was named to report on efforts to obtain
from Mexico a constitution or organic law for California. Communications
were also received from Bandini about the cost of Victoria's passage to S.
Bias. This debt of $1,500 was assumed in the session of Feb. 4th. (p. 189-
95.) In extra or secret sessions of Jan. 24th, 30th, Feb. 3d, 6th, the date
and place of annual meetings were discussed without any definite conclusion.
There was also some slight clashing between Pico and the rest, P. declaring
that it was his place to direct the junta and not to be directed by it. (p.
352-5.) Feb. 10th, on motion of Ortega, Echeandia was again requested xo
proclaim, as soon as possible, the accession of Pico to the office of gefe, and
to cease exercising political power himself; it was also ordered that the new
gefe should have jurisdiction at once in those places where the civil authority
was established, except at S. Francisco, Sta Barbara, and S. Diego, which
places were to be within the jurisdiction of the comandante general, until
such time as the civil authority might be regularly organized and the neces-
sity for military rule removed, (p. 196-7.) It seems that on Feb. 3d E. had
objected to P. 's appointment in a communication, either to the dip. or to the
ayuntamiento, to which latter body he writes on Feb. 6th. Dept. St. Pap.,
MS., iii. 41. Feb. 11th, E. to P., in reply to note of 10th, asks by what right
he has taken the oath, the law of Sept. 30, 1S23, being anulled by art. 163 of
the constitution. Id., iii. 39. Feb. 12th, the ayunt. and citizens of Los Ange-
les held a meeting and formally declared that they would obey no other gefe
politico than Echeandia. This action was confirmed on Feb. 19th, J. A.
Carrillo and Jose" Perez dissenting. Los Angeles, Arch., MS., iv. 50-3, 56-8;
Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 39-40. Feb. 13th, the action of the ayunt. against
P. was received through E. P. made rather a bitter speech, and proposed
that E. himself be invited to go before the ayunt. to explain why P. had been
appointed according to the laws and to the plan of S. Diego; and also how
insulting had been the action of the municipal body to the dip. and the laws.
All but Yorba favored this, and the sending of a committee to reason with the
ayunt. (p. 197-202.) Feb. 16th, a letter from E. was read, refusing to com-
ply with the request of the dip. E. now declared the appointment illegal,
because the military and political command could not be separated ; there had
not been 7 vocales present; some of them were related to Pico; and finally, P.
was incompetent to perform the duties of the office. Still, rather than use
force, he will give up the political command and hold the dip. responsible.
1'. in a very able speech refuted E.'s arguments, and claimed that, whatever
his lack of talent, the people had chosen him as a vocal; but he refused to
attend any more meetings or accept the office of gefe politico until the dip.
should vindicate its honor and freedom, and refuse to recognize E., who had
evidently intrigued with the ayunt. against the territorial government. Va-
llejo followed with an argument against E.'s position, which he regarded as
virtually a new pronunciamiento made with a view to keep for himself the
political power. The speaker was, however, in favor of offering no resistance,
but of suspending the sessions and leaving -the responsibility of the new
revolution with E. and his friends. All except Yorba approved this view,
and it was decided to adjourn next day, reporting this action and the reasons
to E. and to the national govt. (p. 202-9.) E.'s protest against P.'s appoint-
PICO DEFRAUDED OF THE GOVERNORSHIP. 219
tody desired him to come to Los Angeles. Each de-
clined to yield, and the controversy may have been
more bitter than is indicated in the records. At last,
after waiting fifteen days, it was decided that the
presence of the gefe provisional could be dispensed
with, and on the 27th the oath of office was taken by
Pico. Echeandia made no open opposition, but neg-
lected to proclaim the change; and later, when the
ayuntamiento of Los Angeles, doubtless at his insti-
gation, refused on February 12th to recognize any
gefe but Echeandia, the latter openly declared Pico
incompetent, his election illegal, and the action of the
diputacion a wrong to himself. Pather than resort
to force, however, he proposed on the 16th to surren-
der the gefatura, holding the diputacion responsible
for all disorders that might ensue. Echeandia's course
can hardly be regarded otherwise than as contempti-
ble and treacherous. Led by motives of personal
ambition and personal resentment, he made use of his
military power against the cause he had pretended to
support. He may have been technically right in de-
claring the action of the diputacion illegal; for it is
doubtful if in a frontier territory like California the
civil and military power could be even temporarily
separated by the people, but he knew this perfectly
when he signed the plan, which was the only law un-
der which the revolutionists could pretend to act.
Pico and his associates acted in a moderate and
dignified manner at this juncture. The former de-
ment, also in Dept. St. P«p., MS., iii. 42-3. Feb. 17th, Vallejo and Argue-
llo presented their expediente against Victoria, a long presentment of all the
charges, with copies of many documents on the subject, all of which has been
utilized in the preceding chapter. Some slight routine business was trans-
acted, and then the dip. adjourned for the reasons stated in the session of
Feb. 16th. (p. 209 11, 298-350.) On this subject I may note hero that on
Feb. 6th, E. had sent to Mexico a full statement of the charges against Vic-
toria and the causes of the revolt. Alaman, Succsos de Cal. en 183 7, MS., p.
23-9. Feb. 24th, at S. Diego the members of the dip., in forwarding to
Mexico the expediente above alluded to, prefaced that document with a long
statement of their late sessions at Los Angeles, of their efforts in behalf of
their country, and of Echeandia's unexpected opposition and ambitious
schemes to retain his political power. Their case as presented was a very
strong one. (p. 253-08.) Leg. Rec, MS., i. 173-355.
220 AN INTERREGNUM— ECHE ANDl A AND ZAMORANO.
clined to retain the office in opposition to the will of
the general and the people of Los Angeles, and the
deputies, defenceless and averse to further civil dis-
sensions, deemed it best to regard Echeandia's move-
ment as a successful contra-pronunciamiento, which
relieved them of all further responsibility. They ac-
cordingly suspended their sessions on the 17th, ren-
dering to the national government a full report of all
that had occurred, and holding themselves in readi-
ness to meet again when the interests of the country
should demand it. Pico made no further claims to the
office of gefe politico, nor were any such claims made
for him. By the five members of the diputacion he
had been recognized from January 27th to February
16th, twenty days, and under the plan of revolt he
was entitled to the office. Such is the substance of
Don Pio's title to be regarded as governor of Cal-
ifornia in 1832-3. 3
While Echeandia w T as thus occupied with a revolu-
tionary movement against his own friends in the
south, another Mexican officer was engaged in devel-
oping revolutionary schemes, equally selfish and am-
bitious, but far less treacherous, in the north. Captain
Agustin V. Zamorano and others pronounced at
Monterey against the plan of San Diego, and all who
had favored that movement. Zamorano had been
Victoria's secretary and friend, but so far as can be
known had taken no part in the troubles of 1831, had
made no effort to defend his unpopular master in his
time of need, but had perhaps promised neutrality.
Now that Victoria was out of the country, aware that
the popular feeling in favor of Echeandia was by no
means so strong as had been that against Victoria,
knowing that current disputes must be settled event-
3 On the trouble between Pico and Echeandia, see, in addition to the records
already cited, Pico, Hist. Gal, MS., 41-4; Osio, Hist. Gal., MS., 189-92;
Valhjo, Hist. Gal, MS., ii. 159-64; Alvarado, Hist. Gal, MS., ii. 134-90;
Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 50-1; Machado, Tiempos Pasados, MS., 28-9. There
are no variations of statement requiring notice. P. says that E. subsequently
recognized him; but sucli does not appear to have been the fact.
ZAMORANO'S REVOLT.
221
ually in Mexico rather than in California, and being
moreover free from all charges of complicity in the
late revolt, the ambitious captain shrewdly saw his
opportunity to gain favor with the national authori-
ties, as well as temporary prominence in territorial
affairs, and he acted accordingly.
Zamorano's first step was to secure the cooperation
of the foreign residents of Monterey. These foreign-
ers, though taking no decided stand, had been inclined
to favor Victoria because of his strict preservation of
order and administration of justice, caring very little
for his sins against the spirit of Mexican institutions.
As a rule, they disliked Echeandia, had no confidence
in Pio Pico, were opposed to all revolutions not di-
rectly in the line of their own interests, and deemed
their business prospects threatened by the rumored
dissensions in the south. Therefore they were will-
ing to act in defence of good order at the capital.
They were convened by Zamorano on January 24th,
and proceeded to organize a compania extranjera for
the defence of Monterey, during the continuance of
■ existing circumstances,' against attack from the in-
terior or from any other quarter. Nearly fifty joined
the company, and elected Hartnell as their leader. 4
4 Compania Extrangera de Monterey, su organization en 1832, MS. The
company was not to be required to leave the town under any circumstances.
Juan B. Bonifacio was 2d officer, or lieutenant, with Luis Vignes as a substi-
tute in case of his disability. Such men as had to leave their work for mili-
tary service were to receive 50 cents per day. The following men attended
the meeting and signed the rolls of the company:
Agustin V. Zamorano, Juan B. Bonifacio,
Wm E. Hartnell, Timothy Murphy,
Thos Coulter, Wm Taylor,
Juan B. Leandry, James Watson,
Geo. Kinlock, John Rainsford,
J. B. R. Cooper, John Gorman,
Jose Amesti, Clias Roe,
Luis Pombert, Henry Bee,
Samuel Mead, R. S. Barker,
Wm McCarty, Edward Watson,
John Thompson, ' John Miles,
Jas Cook, Joseph Dixon,
Wm Johnson, John Roper,
Wm Gralbatch, Guy F. Fling,
Juan D. Bravo, John Burns,
Daniel Ferguson,
I have in my possession the original 'orderly book' of the company, kept
J. L. Vignes,
D. Douglas,
Nathan Spear,
Santiago McKinley,
Estevan Munras,
Jos6 Iglesiaa,
Walter Duckworth,
Thos Ray more,
John Roach,
Thos Doak,
David Littlejohn,
Wm Garner,
Pierre J. Chcvrette,
Chas R. Smith,
Wm Webb.
222 AN INTERREGNUM— ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO.
Having thus enlisted the services of the foreign
residents, the leaders of whom doubtless understood
his plans, Zamorano summoned Asesor Gomez, Lieu-
tenant Ibarra, Hartnell, and half a dozen other men
of some prominence to a meeting February 1st; and
to this junta, after having stated that northern Cali-
fornia from Santa Barbara to San Francisco did not
accept the plan of San Diego, he submitted in sub-
stance the following questions: Are the acts of the
diputacion at Los Angeles legal or illegal? In the
latter case, in what person should be vested the civil
and military command, Victoria having left the terri-
tory? Should a force be sent south for the defence
of Santa Barbara, as had been requested? Ought
the sub-comisario of revenues at Monterey to obey
the orders of Juan Bandini, his superior officer, but a
leader in the revolution? After a thorough discussion,
that is, after the members had approved Zamorano's
views as previously agreed upon, the junta decided:
First, that the acts of the diputacion must be con-
sidered illegal and null, since that body had been con-
vened by an authority unknown to the laws and ex-
isting only by reason of revolution. Consequently
no obedience or respect was due to rulers chosen by
that body. Second, no gefe politico should be chosen
until the supreme government should appoint one,
but the comandancia general should be filled ad in-
terim, according to the military regulations, by the
officer of highest rank and seniority who had taken no
part in the rebellion, that is, by Zamorano, the two
ranking captains Portilla and Argiiello having for-
by its captain, from Feb. 8th, when active garrison duty was begun, to April
12th, when the captain resigned. Hartnell, Cuaderno cle Ordenes de la Com,'
pafiia Extrangera de Monterey, 183:3, MS. On Feb. 23d, Edward Watson
was dismissed for disrespect. March 25th, Hartnell, having to be absent,
left Bonifacio in command. April 12th, the alcalde having requested the
comandante of the post to dispense with Bonifacio's services, Hartnell took
it as an insult to the company, and resigned. This was very likely the end
of tho organization. On Feb. 18, 1833, Hartnell informed the members that
Gov. Figueroa, in his communication to Zamorano on Feb. 15th, had thanked
the foreigners for their services, which he promised to make known to the-
sup. govt. Vulkjo, Doc, MS., ii. 12.
PRONUXCIAMIENTO OF MONTEREY. 223
feited their rights. Third, to remove anxiety, uphold
lawful authority, and prevent catastrophe at Santa
Bdrbara, as large a force as can be spared should be
sent there at once, but not to attempt operations
against the rebels unless they should attack that place.
In case of such attack, the comandante may not only
repel the foe, but if circumstances permit, may advance
to San Diego and capture the rebel leaders. He
must communicate the proceedings of this meeting to
the officer in command of the rebels, summoning them
all to give up their arms, and suspending all from
office. Should they refuse, they are to be warned
not to advance beyond the points they now occupy.
Fourth, the comisario subalterno, Gomez, will not obey
Bandini, but communicate directly with the comisario
general in Sonora, Fifth, the garrison at San Fran-
cisco having pronounced in favor of the legitimate
authority, and arrested their comandante, Sanchez,
who had approved the San Diego plan, the retired
lieutenant, Ignacio Martinez, shall be placed in com-
mand there. Sixth, the acting comandante general
must report these proceedings to the supreme govern-
ment, with mention of the services rendered by for-
eigners, and lists of soldiers and civilians who have
remained loyal. 5
5 Pronunciamiento de Monterey contra el Plan de San Diego, 6 sea Acta de la
Junta de 1° de Febrero 1832 en favor de la legitima autoridad y contra D. Jos6
Maria Eche and ia, MS. Copy certified by Zamorano oil Feb. 2d, and several
other certified copies. The signers were Capt. Agustin V. Zamorano, com-
andante of Monterey; Lie. Rafael Gomez, asesor of the territory; Jose Joa-
quin Gomez, comisario subalterno of Monterey; Salvador Espinosa, alcalde;
W. E. Hartnell and Juan B. Bonifacio, commanders of the foreign military
company; Juan Maria Ibarra, lieut of the Mazatlan company; Juan Malarin,
honorary 2d lieut of national navy; Francisco Pacheco, brevet lieut; and
Jose" Maria Madrazo, sergt of artillery detachment. Feb. 1st, Zamarano
reports the action of the junta to the alcalde of S. Jose". 8. Jose, Arch.,
MS., iii. 9. Feb. 2d, sends copies to S. F., S. Jose, and Branciforte. Val-
lejo, Doc, MS., i. 289. Feb. Gth, Z. announces to comandantes and al-
caldes that the garrison and citizens of Sta Barbara had 'pronounced' in
favor of legitimate authority, deposing the comandante, Alf. Domingo Car-
rillo, who had adhered to the S. Diego plan. All accomplished in a most
happy manner. Id., i. 290. Feb. 12th, Z. to Echeandia. sends copy of the
proceedings of Feb. 1st, and the summons required by that document to
surrender, promising the clemency of the govt to him and his followers if
he accepts. Id. , i. 290. April 2d, Alf. Sanchez, having repented, is restored
224 AN INTERREGNUM— ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO.
There are no records of a formal adhesion to Zam-
orano's plan at San Francisco, San Jose, Branciforte,
and Santa Barbara, though there are allusions to such
adhesion at some of those places, and there can be. no
doubt that it took place at all during the month of
February. Ibarra started with a military force for
Santa Barbara about February 9th; and in April, the
defence of Monterey having been intrusted to the
compania extrangera and to another company of citi-
zens organized for the purpose, Zamorano himself
marched south with all the force he could raise, hav-
ing learned that the so-called rebels were assuming a
hostile attitude, and were not disposed to pay much
attention to the aatoridacl legitima.
So far as the south is concerned, we know more of
what was said than of what was done. The authors
of my original narratives content themselves witli the
general statement that Zamorano having refused to rec-
ognize Echeandia, the latter consented to rule in the
south, while his rival held sway over the north. 6 The
earliest notice we have that a knowledge of the con-
tra-pronunciamiento had reached the south is when on
March 5th Echeandia reported to Pico the news of
disturbances at Santa Barbara, and proposed a meet-
ing of the diputacion for consultation, offering to at-
tend; 7 and next day were communicated more complete
details respecting the proceedings at Monterey. There
were informal meetings of officials for consultation at
to the command of S. F. Id., i. 305. March 30th, Z. to alcalde of S. Jose\
Has heard that the rebels of S. Diego have assumed a hostile attitude and
arc about to occupy Los Angeles, which at the beginning of the month had
come out in favor of the legitimate authority. This makes it necessary for
him to go to Sta Barbara and perhaps farther; and he calls on the alcalde for
20 or 25 men, mounted and patriotic, to be sent at once, since by a rapid
movement he hopes to secure the tranquillity of the country. S. Jox6, Arch.,
MS., ii. GO. Feb. 29th, Anastasio Carrillo in a private letter speaks of the
force which Lieut Ibarra has at Sta Barbara, with which he will force S.
Diego to yield to the proposal of Feb. 28th (?). Voile, Doc. Hist. Cal, MS.,
25. April 8th, Z. was at S. Antonio on his way to Sta Barbara. Ouerra,
Doc, MS., vi. 152. Gonzalez, Experiencias, MS., 30-1, alcalde at the time,
gives a few vague particulars about the action at Sta Barbara.
c The names of authors and narratives are for the most part those given in
note 50 of chap. vii.
^Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 44.
RIVAL RULERS. 225
San Diego on March 7th, 8th, and 13th; and it was
probably at these meetings that Juan Bandini opened
the batteries of his wrathful eloquence on the leaders
of the northern movement, uttering some truths, but
trusting largely to personal abuse to maintain his
position. 8
The 14th of March Echeandia made a formal reply
from San Luis Bey to Zamorano's communication of
February 12th. He accused the latter of having
violated his personal pledges of neutrality, at the
instigation of Rafael Gomez and his own personal
ambition. He alluded to the facts that Victoria had
recognized him as his successor in command, and that
the officials at San Diego in recent meetings had ut-
terly refused to recognize Zamorano as comandante
general. Still Echeandia proposed a truce under con-
ditions, which being observed, he would not use force
to maintain his rights. Evidently nobody in Califor-
nia was thirsting for blood. The conditions were that
Zamorano should leave commercial and other commu-
nication free between different parts of the territory,
withdraw his forces from Santa Barbara, leave the
diputacion and ayuntamientos free to act as they
might deem best in civil affairs, and leave also the co-
misario and the former comandantes of Santa Barbara
and San Francisco free in the exercise of their duties.
On these conditions, by taking the oath prescribed in
the constitution, he might regard himself as coman-
dante general of the north until the decision from
Mexico; but as Ibarra was intriguing with Los
Angeles, Zamorano must decide very promptly, or he
would begin hostile operations and make real the
8 Bandini, Apuntes Politicos de 1S32, MS., and another undated document
in Id., Doc, 2G-31. Zamorano is accused of bad faith in keeping quiet for 42
days after Victoria's defeat to pronounce for him after his departure; Rafael
Gomez was an intimate of Victoria, a prevaricator, an associate of unworthy
persons, and a rum-seller; Jos6 J. Gomez was anxious for disorders in order
to hide irregularities in his revenue accounts; Hartnell was a monarchist;
Bonifacio, an ignorant foreigner, not naturalized; Espinosa had no authority
outside of his municipality; and the other signers were for the most part
incapable of understanding the pronunciamiento. There were only one cap-
tain and one lieutenant, as against 11 officers in favor of the plan of S. Diego.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 15
223 AN INTERRECNUM— ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO.
streams of blood talked of, holding his opponents
responsible before God and the world. 9
The diputacion, willing to forget for the time its
own wrongs at the hands of Echeandia, assembled at
his call at San Die^o to consider measures for checking
the disorders that must result from the new pronun-
ciamiento, "this duty devolving on the assembly for
want of a gefe politico." The members were unan-
imous in their condemnation of Zamorano's junta, es-
pecially of its attempt to suspend the diputacion, a
body with whose acts even the national government
had declared itself powerless to interfere, said Argue-
llo, except after reference to congress. At a second
meeting, March 22d, Pico expressed sentiments very
similar to those of Bandini already cited ; and it was
resolved to issue a circular to the ayuntamientos, in-
viting them to preserve order, to recognize the dipu-
tacion, and to proceed with their ordinary municipal
duties without paying the slightest attention to the
junta which was tempting them into danger. After
this rather mild action the assembly adjourned, appar-
ently with the intention of meeting again at Los
Angeles. 10
But the leoritimistas succeeded in their intrigues
with the fickle ayuntamiento of Los Angeles, which
body, on March 22d, laid before the people a commu-
nication from Zamorano, explaining the beauties of his
system. To this system the assembled citizens " mani-
fested themselves addicted;" 11 and Ibarra came im-
mediately from Santa Barbara with a part of his force
and encamped in the pueblo of the Angels. At San
Luis Bey the members of the diputacion en route for
9 March 15, 1S32, Echeandia to Pico, transcribing his communication of
the 14th to Zamorano. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 303.
10 Leg. Bee, MS., i. 211-20. March 18th, Pico to Vallejo, inviting him to
attend the meeting of next day. Vallejo, Doc. Hist. Cat., MS., i. 306. March
20th, Echeandia to Pico, reporting resolutions of the council of war at S. Diego
March 7th, 8th, 13th, against Zamorano. Argiiello and Vallejo had been
present. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 44-5. The circular to the ayuntamientos
was probably issued but intercepted by Zamorano's officials in the north.
11 Los Angeles, Arch., MS., iv. 59-G0.
PREPARING FOR WAR. 227
Los Angeles heard of the defection of that town, and
also that Echeandia was engaged in active prepara-
tions for war. The most alarming symptom of ap-
proaching trouble was the attitude of the neophytes,
who, as devoted partisans of Echeandia, were coming
into camp from all directions and were being armed
and drilled for offensive operations. The deputies
now held a meeting at San Luis and devoted all their
energies to the preservation of tranquillity and the
prevention of bloodshed. It was voted to send a de-
spatch to Ibarra, holding him responsible for any mis-
fortunes that might result from an outbreak of hos-
tilities, warning him of the inquietude of the Indians,
and urging some arrangement to avoid a rupture.
Similar notes were to be sent to both Echeandia and
Zamorano. 12
Echeandia expressed his willingness to make an
arrangement for peace, but as no replies were received
from Ibarra and Zamorano, he went on with his
preparations, and an advance force of soldiers and In-
dians under Captain Barroso encamped at Paso de
Bartolo on the San Gabriel River. 13 Ibarra deemed
it best to retire to Santa Barbara, perhaps by the
order of his chief, who was now — early in April —
hastening south from Monterey with reinforcements.
Los Angeles was in turn occupied by Barroso and
Echeandia, who in a day or two removed their forces
to San Gabriel. 14
12 Ley. Rec., MS., i. 220-2. It may be remarked that Ibarra's occupation
of Los Angeles was in a sense a violation of Zamorano's plan of Feb. 1st, ac-
cording to which his forces were not to advance beyond Sta Barbara unless
that place should be attacked.
13 Alf. Ignacio del Valle, Lo Pasado de Cal., MS.* 6-7, relates that he was
with Barroso at the Paso while his father, Lieut Antonio del Valle, was with
Ibarra at Los Angeles.
14 Many Californians state that Echeandia had over 1,000 Indians at tho
camp on the river; and Osio, Hist. Cal., MS., 190-9, says that he entered Los
Angeles at the head of 1,000 mounted Indians, whom, however, he dismissed
with presents after retiring to S. Gabriel. Tuthill, Hist. Cal., 134, following
Robinsoris Life in Cal., 122, tells us that Echeandia gathered many Indians at
S. Juan Capistrano, and inaugurated a series of robberies and murders. A
state of anarchy and confusion ensued. There is no foundation for such a
statement. Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 101-77, narrates the particulars of a
personal quarrel that occurred about tins time between Echeandia and San-
228 AN INTERREGNUM— ECHEANDf A AND ZAMORANO.
Zamorano, on arrival at Santa Barbara, was some-
what less warlike than at Monterey, and was induced
to consider the propositions for a truce, to which he
had previously paid no attention. After some pre-
liminary correspondence, not extant, between the two
comandantes and the diputacion, an arrangement was
concluded on the 8th or 9th of May; but Zamorano
seems to have had very much his own way in dictat-
ing the conditions 15 by which the military command
was divided between Echeandia in the south and
Zamorano in the north, while the diputacion was left
with no authority at all, except such as the southern
tiago Argiiello. The matter is also alluded to in Leg. Rec, MS., i. -229-30.
Vallejo also gives some details of the stay of the forces at S. Gabriel, where
$20,000 were 'borrowed' and supplies were exacted, not much to the satisfac-
tion of the padres, who were warm adherents of the other party.
15 Zamorano, Proclama que contiene los Articidos de las Condiciones con-
venidas entre el y el Sr Echeandia en Mayo de 1832, MS. This original procla-
mation is dated May 9th. I have never seen the original agreement with
signatures of the parties, or any copy of it; and I suppose that no such docu-
ment was ever signed. The articles were in substance as follows: 1. Until
the arrival of a ruler or of express orders from Mexico. California shall remain
divided into two parts — one from S. Gabriel south, under command of Lieut-
col. Echeandia, and the other from. S. Fernando north, under Capt. Zamo-
rano. The former could not advance any military force north of San Juan
Capistrano; nor the latter south of S. Buenaventura — this, however, not to
affect the ordinary mission escoltas of 5 or 7 men. 2, 4. Neither the dip. nor
any gefe politico named by that body shall issue any orders to the northern
ayuntamientos; nor shall the dip. make any innovations in the southern mis-
sions. 3, 5. Trade and travel must not be interrupted; and in case of convul-
sions either party must afford prompt advice and aid. 6. Neither party can
Lave with Los Angeles any other relations than the military ones heretofore
existing between that town and the presidial comandantes. 7. Any armed
advance contrary to art. 1 to be repelled without incurring responsibility;
other faults to be promptly settled by official correspondence. 8. Mails to
leave Monterey on the 7th, and S. Diego on the 22d of each month. 9. In
opening official despatches from Mexico great delicacy to be used, and the
responsibility to rest on the southern comandante. 10. Civilians who have
taken no part in the contention may live where they please; others where
they are (?). 11. Neophytes and gentiles are to be sent back unarmed to
their respective homes. 12. For the sake of peace, these articles will remain
in force until the chief named by the sup. govt shall have been recognized.
Copy of this document also in S. Jose, Arch., MS., ii. 90. Alvarado, Hist.
(Jed., MS., ii. 188-9, claims to have been largely instrumental, by his personal
intimacy with both leaders, in securing the formation of this treaty. Eche-
andia did not admit that he had agreed to these articles except to Nos. 1, 5,
and 8. This appears from his letter to Pico of May 22d. De.pt. St. Pap. ,
MS., iii. 47-8, and from Zamorano's proclamation of July 7th. Vallejo, Doc.
Hist. Cal., MS., i. 314. His claim was that the others were suggestions not
definitely decided on, or perhaps in some cases not accurately stated in
Zamorano's proclamation. The diputacion, however, seems to have agreed
with Z.'s version of the articles relating to that body. Leg. Rec, MS., i.
250-2.
A TRUCE. 229
comandante might choose to give it in his district on
matters not involving innovations in the missions.
The military forces were promptly withdrawn to
the north and south by the respective generals, and
the members of the diputacion retired to San Diego,
where on May 15th they held a meeting, and ad-
dressed to the president of the republic a full report
of what they had done for the good of California
since February 24th, the date of their last represen-
tation. They declared that Zamorano's action had
been wholly uncalled for, and that many of the state-
ments in his pronunciamiento were false. They added
to their report an argument in which they presented
at some length their views on the causes of the evils
afflicting California — evils due largely to the detestable
and anti-republican mission system, and to the pres-
ence and intrigues of the friars, who sought a restor-
ation of Spanish institutions. They more than hinted
that Zamorano's movement had been in the interests
of Spain, and they reiterated their opinion that the
civil and military command should be vested in two
distinct persons. 16 Again at the end of December
did the diputacion meet, this time at Los Angeles, to
take some final steps for vindicating the record of past
acts and to adjourn, since the term of several members
now expired, and the com andante of the north had re-
fused to take any steps for a new election. 17
One more episode of the Zamorano-Echeandia con-
troversy demands brief notice, namely, the exploits
16 Session of May 15, 1832. Leg. Bee., MS., i. 231-52,
17 Leg. Bee., MS., i. 222-30. Dec. 30th-31st, it was voted to send a commu-
nication to the new chief in order to hasten his arrival; to send a protest to
Zamorano, holding him responsible for violating the law by preventing an
election and abrogating the faculties of the gefe politico; to notify ayunta-
micntosof the dissolution of the dip., and call for acknowledgments of various
exhortations to peace and good order sent to the municipal bodies; and finally
to prepare a manificsto to the people. The adjournment on Dec. 31st is re-
corded in Los Angeles, Arch., MS., iv. 76. Aug. 2d, Echeandia had sent a
communication to Pico on the subject of holding elections, in which he gives
directions, proposes to preside, and speaks throughout as if he deemed him-
self still the gefe politico. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 70-1.
230 AN INTERREGNUM— ECHEANDlA AND ZAMORANO.
of Antonio Avila, a convict whom the reader will re-
member in connection with the Solis revolt of 1829,
and some of his companion presidiarios. It seems
that Vicente Sanchez came north as soon as released
from the Los Angeles jail, and in his patriotic zeal en-
listed Avila and fifteen or twenty convicts to march
south and aid in restoring the 'legitimate government,'
promising them, in addition to other emoluments,
their liberty. In the south they abandoned Sanchez,
distrusting his promises and learning that he intended
to use them for private rather than public service, and
wandered about for a time in different parts of the
country. The people naturally were alarmed when
they knew that such a band of desperadoes were at
large with arms in their hands, though it does not
appear that they really committed any outrages. A
charge of a design to overthrow Zamorano's and not
Echeandia's power was trumped up against Avila and
his men, and after several unsuccessful efforts they were
captured at Pacheco's rancho, disarmed, and subjected
to trial at Monterey in June. No proof of revolution-
ary designs was adduced, but the convicts were kept
under arrest until the new governor arrived, and were
by him included in a general pardon to all comba-
tants. Avila in 1833 recovered his arms, but failed
to obtain permission to go to Mexico, until his term
should have expired, notwithstanding his disposition
to serve his country shown on at least two occasions. 13
From June to December 1832 all was quiet politi-
cally, both in the north and south, and California un-
der its dual military rule was by no means a badly
18 Avila, Papeles Tocantes d la Sedicion de Antonio Avila y otros Presidiarios
en 1832, MS. Vicente Sanchez declined to testify, on the plea that he was a
diputado. June 13th, Zamorano to alcalde of S. JosC. Says Avila's party
are near Monterey, ready to present themselves on his (Z. 's) order; but as ifc
is impossible for him to have any official relations with such people, it has
been determined to capture them by force. He wants 9 or 10 men, who were
later sent back because there were no muskets for them. S. Josd, Arch., MS.,
ii. 57. June 19th, 23d, Z. to com. of S. F., on the same subject. Valiejo, Doc,
MS., i. 311-12.
WHO IS GOVERNOR IN 1832 ? 231
governed territory, since we hear of neither disorders
on the part of the people nor of oppressive acts by
the rulers. Both parties, in fact, waiting for a new
governor and a supreme decision on their past acts,
ay ere on their good behavior, and disposed to cooper-
ate in the preservation of order. It may be a matter
of some interest to decide who was the governor, or
gefe politico, of California this year. It has been cus-
tomary to put Pio Pico's name in the list between
those of Victoria and Figueroa; but as I have already
shown, he has no claim to the honor. For some twenty
days he claimed the place, which he ought to have had
under the plan of San Diego, and was recognized by
the four or five members of the body that elected him;
but after February 16th he made no claims and per-
formed no acts. Nor did the diputacion make any
claims in his behalf. He refused on the date named
to accept the office, and was never asked again to do
so. There was no Mexican law making him gefe po-
litico without regard to his own acts, or those of his
associate vocales, by virtue of his position as senior
vocal. Zamorano, on the other hand, never made pre-
tensions to be gefe politico; in fact, one of the articles
of his plan expressly declared that no such officer ex-
isted.
Either there was a vacancy or Echeandia was the
governor. Echeandia was declared gefe politico pro-
visional in the plan of November 29th and December
1st, until he should give up the office to a person
named by the diputacion. That plan was successful,
and on December 6th Victoria surrendered the office
to him. The diputacion recognized his title, and no-
body formally denied it till the 1st of February. Then
Zamorano's junta declared the office to be vacant;
but the plan of February 1st was never entirely suc-
cessful, being accepted only in the north. After Jan-
uary 27th he ought, according to his own pledges, to
have surrendered the office, but he did not do so.
On February 12th the Los Angeles ayuntamiento,
232 AN INTERREGNUM— ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO.
the only civil organization in the south, recognized
him, and declared it would not recognize any other,
and it never did recognize any other; though by ap-
proving Zamorano's plan it virtually assented to the
doctrine of a vacancy. The 16th of February Eche-
andia offered to surrender the office to avoid the
use of force; but his offer was not accepted. The
compact of May 8th-9th contained not a word against
his claims to the office, even according to Zamorano's
version of that compact; and Echeandia did not re-
linquish his claims, but on the contrary asserted them,
and performed some few and slight acts, in the mat-
ter of elections and secularization, in his capacity of
gefe politico. 19 There was never any decision of the
question by the Mexican authorities, nor in fact any
necessity for such decision. If I give a chrono-
logical list of rulers elsewhere in this work, I must
either use Echeandia s name for 1832 or leave the
place blank. Meanwhile the reader may decide for
himself.
Now Californian affairs in Mexico demand atten-
tion. CaYlos Carrillo, the congressman, was bitterly
disappointed when he heard of the revolution against
Victoria. The news seemed to weaken his eloquent
eulogies of the Californians as a law-abiding people.
He had flattered himself on having reached the brink
of success in obtaining several advantageous measures
for his constituents. Probably he had made less prog-
ress than he supposed, but the late events afforded
the president and ministers a convenient excuse for
refusing to carry out certain partial promises. All
hope for a separation of the military and civil com-
mands, for an organic law, for courts, for a proper
19 July 19th, Z. in a proclamation to the people refers to E.'s rejection of
certain articles of the compact and to his claim to be gefe politico as subjects
respecting which discussion had been voluntarily discontinued on account of
the expected arrival of a new gefe at an early date. Vallejo, Doc, MS., i.
314. Castillo Negrete in 1835 alludes to Echeandia as 'el intruso gefe poli-
tico.' Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxviii. 53.
CHOICE OF A NEW RULER. 233
distribution of lands — and he might have added, "for
my appointment as gefe politico" — "has gone to the
devil," he complains to Guerra, "and I am placed in
a most awkward position after having sung the praises
of the Californians in congress." 20 If we may credit
Carrillo's own statements — and I find no other evi-
dence on the subject — the Mexican authorities were
disposed to be severe in their treatment of the revolt-
ing Californians; and it was only by the most un-
tiring efforts that he saved the leaders, first from death,
then from banishment, and finally had them included
in an amnesty granted to the rebels of Vera Cruz.
The choice of a ruler to succeed Victoria now occu-
pied, as far as the interests of so distant a territory
ever did, the attention of Bustamante and his advisers.
Circumstances seemed to require the appointment of
a strong military man. The idea of separating the
commands, if it had ever been entertained, was aban-
doned when the revolt was known, and at the same
time Carrillo's chances disappeared, if he ever had
any. Victoria says the first idea of the government
was to send him back with a strong supporting force. 21
Then there was a thought of appointing Zamorano,
as the ranking officer in California not involved in the
revolt. This was recommended by Virmond, and
very likely by Victoria and Padre Peyri, but Carrillo
20 Carrillo, Cartas del Diputado, MS. , 231-52. Jan. 20th, Carrillo called on
the vice-president, receiving from him the news of disturbances in Cal. Busta-
mante threatened to send an armed force to bring that rebellious territory to
order. C. told him it would be better to take away the Mazatlan company
than to send more troops, who without pay would be sure to revolt. March
loth, Virmond has arrived and given an ugly account of home affairs. Vic-
toria and Peyri are expected ; and Pliego will say no good of the Californians.
It is said that all officers who took part in the revolt will be dismissed the
service. (Such an order seems to have been issued on Mar. 20th, so far as
artillery officers were concerned. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 45.) April 14th,
tired of official life, of struggles against obstinate diputados, of official prom-
ises never kept. Does not desire re-election, which Victoria tells him is
talked of. Only by the most strenuous efforts, aided by four other deputies,
he has saved the Californian revolutionists from the death penalty, but not
from that of banishment for 4 years from the republic. Letters of April 21st
and May 1 1th on Figueroa's appointment. C. in later years (p. 254-7) claimed
that it was by his efforts that the Californian rebels were included in the
amnesty granted to those of Vera Cruz.
21 Guerra, Doc., MS., iv. 183-4.
234 AX INTERREGNUM— ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO.
opposed it with all his might. 22 The choice finally
fell on Brevet Brigadier-general Jose Figueroa, an
able and prominent man in Mexican affairs since 1820,
comandante general of Sonora and Sinaloa for five or
six years, and by reason of that position, more or less
acquainted with Calif ornian affairs. Politically he
was not in sympathy with Bustamante's administra-
tion, having been a supporter and intimate personal
friend of Guerrero; and it is believed that his appoint-
ment was a measure dictated less by a consideration
of his interests or those of California than by a desire
to get rid of a troublesome foe. 23
22 Carrillo, Cartas, MS., 235-6. He says that Mexico was swarming with
claimants for command in the distant territories, impecunious nobodies at the
national capital, but ready to put on the airs of viceroys in Cal. Id., p. 241-5.
23 The first mention I iind of Figueroa in contemporary records is in a pri-
vate letter of Iturbide to Guerrero, dated Jan. 10, 1821,' in which he urges the
patriot chieftain to put himself on the side of Spain, and asks him to send a
man of his entire confidence to treat with him on the subject, naming Figueroa
among several other 'individuos masadictos a Vd.' Mexico, Cartas de Iturbide
y Guerrero, p. 2. Antonio Ruiz de la Mota, one of Guerrero's men in the war
of independence, a man to whom F. rendered many favors in Cal., said that
F. as Guerrero's secretary took a prominent part in the negotiations by which
the two leaders were united and success insured ; though at one time Guerrero
suspected his friend of treachery and proposed to have him shot. Torre, Remin. ,
MS., 51-3. In 1824 F. was appointed comandante general of Sonora, and
specially commissioned to organize an expedition at Arizpe to explore and se-
cure the regions obstructed by savages; to inspect the mines, especially the
famous 'planchas de plata;' and to facilitate communication by land with
Cal. In pursuance of these instructions, he marched in person to the junction
of the Colorado and Gila in 1825; but had to go back in haste to put down
the great Yaqui revolt, which lasted several years. Retes, Portentosas Rique-
zas Mlnerales. His efforts to open communication between Son. and Cal. are
mentioned in the account I have given of Romero's expedition of 1823-G in
chap. xxii. vol. ii. ; and several of his letters are included in Romero,
Documentos, MS. Elsewhere in my work in connection with the annals of
Sonora I have said something respecting this part of Figueroa's career ; for
particular allusions to him, see Pinart, Col. Doc. Son., MS., nos. 48. 52-3;
print, nos. 107, 110, 180-2; Sonora, Adas del Primer Congreso Constitutional
i. 74-5; Figueroa, Observaciones de un Ciudadano, MS., 1-7; Opinion Publica
de Occidente, July 30, 1829. On Sept. 5, 1828, the name of Altar was officially
changed to Villa de Figueroa, and the general was formally declared a citizen
of Sonora. Though of unquestioned bravery, he earned the cognomen of 'El
Pacifico y Calmoso;' always used his influence against local revolutions; and
was sometimes blamed for his indulgence to conquered Indian foes. He left
Sonora in 1829, starting for the eastern coast to aid in repelling Spanish in-
vasion, but not arriving apparently in time for that service. On Dec. 20,
1829, he issued at Durango a proclamation calling upon the people to follow
him in support of Guerrero and the federal government against the rebels of
Campeche and Jalapa. Atleta, Jan. 7, 1830, p. 75. In March 1830 he was ar-
rested with several others by orders of Gen. Bachillcr in Mexico on charge of
conspiracy, Id., Mar. 25, Apr. 2, 25, 1830, p. 385, 41C, 507; but as he was too
popular a man to be shot and too dangerous to be allowed to remain in Mex-
FIGUEROA APPOINTED. 235
Figueroa received his appointment as comaixlante
general and inspector at a salary of $4,000 April 17,
1832, and that of gefe superior politico on May 9th,
with instructions from the different ministries the 17th.
His general instructions took the form of supplemen-
tary articles to those formerly given to Echeandia, not
literally extant, as we have seen. Figueroa was to
work for the perfect restoration of tranquillity, and to
inspire confidence in the national government by ex-
plaining the causes which had led to certain changes
in the system of republican administration. He was
to supply complete statistics about California and all
its institutions and industries. He was to give much
attention to the neophytes, with a view to improve
their condition and fit them for a change in the mis-
sion system. To give an impulse to trade, he must
favor the exportation of surplus products and induce
the missions to build small vessels. Colonization and
the distribution of lands both to citizens and foreigners
were to be encouraged in accordance with the laws,
several special grants being recommended, as were
active efforts to extend settlement toward 42° in the
north. Indian policy toward the gentiles, movements
and aims of the Russians and Americans, illegal opera-
tions of hunters and trappers, and abuses in connection
with the rearing of cattle were among the matters to
which the new ruler's attention was directed. 24 Special
instructions were given on the subject of secularizing
ico, he was soon released to be exiled to California as governor. He held the
honorary position of vice-governor of the state of Mexico until Dec. 7, 183:3.
St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 285, 293-4. He left Sonorain debt to the
fondo de temporalidades to the amount of $3,000, which sum was ordered to
be collected in 1834. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxvii. 11. Carlos Car-
rillo, when the appointment was first made, was told by a deputy from Sonora
that Figueroa was a despotic fortune-hunter, and Virmond also spoke against
him; but Minister Alaman spoke in the highest terms of the new appointee,
and Carrillo himself after an interview formed a favorable opinion of him, freely
expressed in his letters to Guerra, whom lie advised to conciliate Figueroa's
friendship by presenting him with a span of mules. On his appointment, see
Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cud.-IL, MS., ii. 18; Id., Angeles, xi. 2; Id., Monterey,
ii. 21.
24 Figueroa, Instrucciones Generales para el Gobierno de California dadas dl
Gen. Don Jos6 Figueroa, 1832, MS. Dated May 7, 1832, and signed by the
minister Ortiz Monasterio.
236 AN INTERREGNUM -ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO.
the missions, which in substance required the whole
matter to be put back where it was before Echeandia s
act of January 1831; but at the same time called for
a continuance of investigation and reports with a view
to an early change in the system. 25 With reference
to the late revolutionary troubles, Figueroa was fur-
nished with full reports from Victoria, Echeandia,
and the diputacion, of the quarrel as viewed from differ-
ent standpoints, and was instructed, after a secret and
impartial investigation, to render a comprehensive re-
port. 20
The governor was provided not only with instruc-
tions on his duties, but with a force of some seventy-
five officers and men who were to aid him in perform-
ing those duties. The soldiers, however, were cholos
of a not very desirable class, from the region of Aca-
pulco, but lately released from prison and pardoned
for revolutionary attempts. Figueroa went to Aca-
pulco in June to superintend the outfit of his com-
pany, and all sailed from that port July 17th in the
brig Catalina. 21 The first landing was at Cape San
25 May 17, 1832, Alamanto F. in St. Pap., Miss, and Colon, MS., ii. 33-5;
Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 102-6.
2Q Alaman } Sucesos de California en 1831, MS. Ala man also directs F. to
obtain instructions from Victoria. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., viii. 8. Victoria's
influence is also apparent in Alaman's instruction of same date, May 17th,
that Vallejo is not entitled to a seat in the dip. Id., v. 9. As for Echeandia,
a pardon was sent with orders to report at Mexico. Id., xiii. 40. The com-
plaints of the dip. against Victoria were also furnished; and F. was instructed
to see that the dip. was renewed according to the laws, and to communicate
this resolution to the complainants, as he did on July 7th. Vallejo, Doc, M.S.,
i. 316.
27 July 1, 1832, F. at Acapulco appoints Lieut-col. Manuel Martinez tem-
porary chief of the infantry embarked on the Morelos for California (?).
JJept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 54. July 5th, lie announces to his soldiers their
pardon, states that their imprisonment has not stained their honor, and
explains that great reliance is placed in them to protect Cal. from Spaniards,
Russians, and Americans. Id., iii. 07-9. July 7th, to sec. of rel. Will attend
to formation of a compania de fronteras, and the sending of mails via the
Colorado on arrival in Cal. Id., iii. 52-3. July 14th, arms and munitions
shipped on the Catalina, including 100 muskets and bayonets, 20,000 car-
tridges, and 2,000 flints, one G-pounder with 200 charges. l)ept. St. Pap., Ben.
Mil., MS., lxxxviii. 7. July 17th, force that sailed on the Catalina with F.:
Lieut-col. Manuel Martinez and Lieut Jos6 Portu (who did not reach Cal.),
Capt. Nicolas Gutierrez, Capt. Francisco Figueroa (brother of the general),
Surgeon Manuel de Alva, 41 cavalrymen with 8 musicians under Sergt
Estrada, 5 artillerymen under Sergt Buitron, and 9 infantrymen under
TROUBLE ON THE JOURNEY. 237
Lucas on the 30th. Remaining here with his troops,
Fisrueroa sent the vessel to San Bias and Mazatlan
for money, additional troops, and a band of friars, all
intended for California. 28 The Catalina, after taking
on board ten Zacatecan friars — of whose coming to
California I shall have more to say in another chap-
ter — with Lieutenant Rafael Gonzalez and family,
besides other officers and men not specified, sailed
from San Bias on August 13th, and in five days
reached Mazatlan. 29 Here, or at Rosario near by,
Gutierrez received from the comisario general $20,000,
and perhaps the rest of the $34,000 which had been
promised; 30 and sailing on August 24th, the vessel
touched on the 28th at Cape San Lucas to take on
board the general and his company.
That same day, the Acapulco cholos under Ser-
geant Nunez revolted, and with the aid of the sailors
seized the Catalina with everything on board, includ-
ing the arms and money intended for California.
Though thirty-eight men besides the friars were not
involved in the mutiny, they were unarmed at the
moment of the outbreak and made no resistance.
The mutineers, after firing some shots at the party left
on shore, sailed at midnight and went to San Bias to
join in the revolutionary movement of Santa Anna
against Bustamante. The reenforcement of men, mu-
nitions, and money was very acceptable ; and it is not
likely that any troublesome questions were asked
about the manner in which they had been obtained. 31
Sergt Nunez — 76 persons in all, including 4 women. Id., lxxxviii. 6. The
price paid the vessel for transportation was $8,416. Id., lxxxviii. 7-8. May
10th, order from Mexico to com. at Acapulco to place volunteers at F.'s dis-
posal. They were to have the preference in the distribution of lands. JDept.
St. Pap., MS., iii. 47-50. Only 9 volunteers seem to have been secured.
28 Aug. 4, 1832, F. to com. of La Paz. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 56.
29 Lieut Gonzalez had come from Mexico, starting July 2Gth, to take
charge of the sub-comisarfa at Monterey. He kept a brief journal of his
journey from day to day. Gonzalez, Diario de Mexico a California, 1832-3,
MS., which, either original or a copy in the author's handwriting, was given
me by his son Mauricio. Gonzalez, Memorias, MS., 55.
30 Aug. 11th, receipt of Gutierrez for $20,000. Dept. St. Pap., MS.,
lxxiv. 46. By this date it would appear that the Catalina had touched at
Mazatlan also on the way to S. Bias.
31 Yet there was a report, or at least so F. stated to his men, that the
238 AN INTERREGNUM— ECIIEANDlA AND ZAMORANO.
Figueroa and his men were now in a sad plight, with
neither vessel, funds, arms, nor luggage. They went
by land up to La Paz, where the last of the company
arrived about the middle of October. The general
reported his dilemma to the administrator of customs
at Guaymas, who was urged to raise $10,000 and to
furnish twenty-five muskets, with other supplies of
absolute necessity. 82 The officials at Guaymas and
Mazatlan seem to have exerted themselves in this
emergency with some success; for on November 1 2th
the Catalina had returned to La Paz and was ready
to carry the party northward to their destination.
On that date Figueroa delivered an address of en-
couragement to his men, reminding them of the evils
that had overtaken or would overtake their rebellious
companions, and of the good things awaiting them in
California, "the land where the Aztecs lived before
they came to Mexico." 33 They finally sailed from La
Paz on December 13th, according to Gonzalez's diary,
touched at Mazatlan from the 14th to the 17th, and
arrived at Monterey on the 14th or 15th of January,
1833.
The news of Figueroa's appointment had arrived as
early as July at least, and Echeandia on the 28th, in
an address to the Californians, spoke of his joy at the
approach of a new ruler, urging the people to render
implicit obedience, but to be ready with the proofs of
their loyalty and the reasons for having deposed Vic-
mutineers had been overpowered at S. Bias, part of the money recovered, and
Itafael Nunez sent to Guadalajara to be shot. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 58-G1.
Forbes, Hist. Cat., 139-42, says that the party was well received by the rev-
olutionists at S. Bias, and that $3,000 of the funds had been sent back to the
friars. Gonzalez in his diary mentions no firing, and I doubt that any oc-
curred. Mention of the affair at San Liicas in Alvarado, Hist. CaL, MS., ii.
104-5; Castro, Relation, MS., 30; Vallejo, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 198-9; Robin-
son's Life in Cal., 138-9; Ryan's Judges and Criminals, 39.
32 Sept. 24th, F. at La Paz to administrator at Guaymas. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Cust.-II., MS., i. 33-5. Oct. 17th, Luis Valle, com. at Guaymas, to F.
Will send the aid required.
33 Nov. 12, 1832, F.'s address to his troops. Dept. St, Pap., MS., iii. 58-61.
I suspect that the date should be Dec. 12th. There had been some previous
negotiations with the captain of the Facio to transport the troops. Id.,
iii. 62.
READY FOR A NEW RULER. 239
toria. The 17th of October he wrote directly to Figue-
roa as his 'respected chief,' to express his submission
to the national authority, and to explain that love of
his country alone had prompted him to take part in
the late pronunciamiento. 34 The people generally,
many of whom knew something of Figueroa by repu-
tation, were pleased at the prospect of seeing a regular
government established again in the territory. The
diputacion, as we have seen, voted at the final session
of the year to send to the new gefe politico an address
of welcome and submission which should also be a de-
fence of its own patriotic policy during the past two
years. Such a document, if actually prepared, is not
extant. Zamorano was doubtless less pleased person-
ally than the other parties at the news of Figueroa's
approach, on account of the well known political affini-
ties of the comandante general; but having been in-
volved in no revolutionary acts, he was even more
confident of approval than the others. To Captain
Antonio Munoz, who came to relieve Fernandez del
Campo in command of the artillery, and who arrived
before Figueroa, Zamorano offered to resign his posi-
tion of 'comandante general accidental of the north;'
but Munoz declined. 35 Evidently, though California
was technically in a 'state of anarchy/ the new ruler
was to encounter no opposition there.
u Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 63-5, 73-4. E. takes advantage of the oppor-
tunity also to prepare for the defence of his late mission policy by dwelling
on the powerful and baneful influence of the missionaries, all of whom with
two exceptions are denouuced as apologistas of Spain and all that is Spanish.
3i l)ept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 79-82.
CHAPTER IX.
FIGUEROA'S RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
1833-1834.
Arrival of Figueroa — Primitive Printing — Imaginary Difficulties-
Amnesty to Rebels — Echeandia and Zamorano — Biography of
echeandia — bandini elected to congress — no sessions of the dlpu-
tacion in 1833 — The Northern Frontier — Figueroa Resigns — A
Warning — Mutiny at San Francisco — The Diputacion in 1834 —
Address by the Governor— Legislative Affairs — The First Book
Printed in California — Reglamento — Petaluma and Santa Rosa —
Santa Anna y Farias— Conspiracy of Guerra and Duran — New
Election — Events in Mexico — Padres and his Schemes — Coloniza-
tion — Hijar as Gefe Politico — Colony Organized — Compania Cos-
mopolitan a — Political Schemes — The March to Tepic — Voyage of
the 'Natalia' and 'Morelos' — Reception of the Colony at San
Diego and Monterey — Wreck of the 'Natalia' — Authorities.
The new ruler arrived at Monterey by the Cata-
lina January 14, 1833, landing and taking possession
of his command the next day. 1 With him came Cap-
tain Francisco Figueroa, his brother, Captain Nicolas
Gutierrez, lieutenants Bernardo Navarrete and Rafael
Gonzalez — the latter to take charge of the custom-
house — Surgeon Manuel Alva, about thirty soldiers,
and ten friars from the college of Zacatecas, who came
to reenforce the Fernandinos.
On the day of arrival, and apparently before land-
ing, Figueroa addressed communications to the va-
rious local authorities, announcing his appointment,
and intention to devote all his energies to the welfare
1 Figueroa's letter written in March. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 103. Rather
strangely, there is in the archives no more definite record of his formal assump-
tion of the command on Jan. 15th than this and the announcement mentioned
in my next note.
(240)
FIRST PRINTING IN CALIFORNIA. 241
of the territory. He was naturally not quite sure
what would be his reception from the different fac-
tions. Before leaving Mexico he had caused to be
printed a proclamation, which he now circulated, to-
gether with a brief notice of his arrival, also printed,
and as it seems at Monterey. This was the first use
of type in California. 2 I suppose that he brought a
small quantity of type with some kind of a hand-press,
or stamp, for printing cards and brief notices, more
as a curiosity perhaps than for actual use.
2 The notice is as follows: 'El Supremo Gobierno Federal se ha servido con-
fiar a mi insuficiencia el mando Politico y Militar del Territorio, de cuyos des-
tinos he tornado posecion el dia de ayer que desembarqu6 felizmente en este
Puerto; y al tener el honor de comunicarlo a V. desfruto el de ofrecerme a su
disposicion, protestandole la mejor voluntad para servirlo y complacerlo, y su-
plicandole acepte las seguridades de mi mas distinguido aprecio y considera-
cion. Monterrey, 16 deEnero de 1833. Jos6 Figueroa. ' The name has the gov-
ernor's riibrica on the copy before me — the only one I have seen — Earliest
Printing in Col. — the one sent to M. G. Vallejo at S. Diego. The impression
is bad, as if done by hand with imperfect apparatus. The 'a' (with grave
accent) shows that the type was not the same used by Zamorano in later
years.
The proclamation printed in Mexico was as follows: ' The comandante
general, inspector, and gefe politico superior of Alta California, to the inhab-
itants of the territory. Compatriots; at my arrival on your coasts I consider
myself under obligation to address you to announce peace, order, and lib-
erty. Boons so precious being assured, you will enjoy the abundant advan-
tages with which nature enriched you. The contrary produces nothing but
countless evils, misfortunes, and desolation. If a fatal moment of excitement
has disturbed your repose, let peace return to occupy her seat in this delicious
country, and with intrepid patriotism let us cast discord to barbarians who
have no country or rights to respect. Peace is the true happiness of mor-
tals; and I restore to you a gift so precious in the name of the supreme fed-
eral government, which has seen fit to confide to me the arduous task. A
perpetual forgetfulness will efface the memory of the political errors which
gave rise to the startling occurrences of year before last. In the law
of April 25th last [printed May, but April substituted in ink], you will find
guaranties and security. To me it belongs to carry them into effect, and I
promise it shall be done. Fear nothing, fellow-citizens; the government
works for your happiness. I, who come to execute its just desires, am re-
solved to overthrow whatever obstacles may impede the development of your
prosperity. It remains for you, united and faithful, to present to the world
a testimony of concord, of respect for authority, and of obedience to law.
The laws will be my guide, and never shall an arbitrary policy or disorder
deprive you of the just and moderate liberty secured in the compact of our
institutions. Fulfill, therefore, your social obligations, and doubt not that
your rights will be respected by your fellow-citizen and friend, Jose" Figueroa. '
In Bandini, Doc, MS., 25; Vallejo, Doc, MS., i. 288; Dept. St. Pap., An-
geles, MS., x. 2-3. Written communications of similar purport issued, Jan.
14th-20th, to ayunt. of Monterey, with invitations to a thanksgiving mass at
F.'s house Jan. 19th. Dept. St. Pap., Mont., MS., vi. 20; Dept. St. P</]>.,
MS., iii. 84-5. To ayunt. of S. Josd. Dept. St. Pap., S. Jose, MS., iv. 111).
To ayunt. of Branciforte. Sta. Cruz, Arch., MS., 43. To military coman-
dantes, through Zamorano. Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 1.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 1G
212 FIGUEROA'3 RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
In all Figueroa s communications, from his arrival
to his death, there are evidences of his belief that by
unremitting effort and the exercise of diplomatic tal-
ent he had overcome the difficulties in his way, and
had succeeded in rescuing California from anarchy.
This view of the matter was partly real and honest,
so natural is it to magnify the importance of one's
own achievements, and partly a pretence designed for
effect in Mexico. The difficulties in this case were
for the most part imaginary. There were no dis-
orders; the factions vied with each other in their
readiness to submit, and nowhere was there the faint-
est ripple of opposition. Figueroa is entitled simply
to the credit of having been a sensible, industrious,
and above all a popular man, who committed no acts
of folly to create troubles where none existed. This
at the first; for later he overcame certain obstacles of
a somewhat more serious nature. Bandini is the onlv
Californian who does not overestimate the impor-
tance of Figueroa's services in saving the country for
Mexico, and Don Juan, it must be confessed, had a
grievance against the governor, the nature of which
will shortly appear. 3
A Mexican decree granting an amnesty to all con-
cerned in the irregularities of 1831-2, on the sole
condition of future loyalty, was circulated by Figueroa,
together with the announcement of- his arrival. 4
Zamorano and his adherents affected a freedom from
all need of amnesty, since their conspirings had been
3 Bandini, Hist. Cal., MS., 78, thinks any other man would have succeeded
as well, as there was no opposition. Jan. 23th, the ayunt. of Los Angeles
formally recognized Figueroa. Los Angeles, Arch., MS., iv. 88. Feb. 2d,
Alcalde J. A. Carrillo congratulates him. Dept. St. Pap., Ang., MS., i.
104. Feb. 10th, Carrillo will harangue the Indians and tranquillize them.
Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 70. J. A. Menendez at S. Gabriel tells F. that at
the missions his coming is regarded as the 'iris do paz que viene a disipar la
espesanubc dc las diferencias que tienen agitado el territorio.' Id., v. pt i. 71.
*S. Jose; Arch., MS., i. 48; Sta Cruz, Arch., MS., 87. Jan. 19th, F. asks
the padres to publish the amnesty and aid in promoting tranquillity. Dept. St.
Pap., MS., iii. 85. Notwithstanding the amnesty of April 25, 1832, I find
an order to the eomisario general dated Aug. 1833, that officers in Sonora and
Cal. are to receive no pay until they prove they have had nothing to do with
revolutionary plans. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., ii. 50.
SUBMISSION OF ECHEANDIA AND ZAMORANO. 213
in support of the government. Figueroa humored
this somewhat plausible whim, thanked the legitimists
for their loyal services, made Zamorano his secretary,
and sent to Mexico a report altogether favorable to
the northern faction, according especial praise to the
compania extrangera of Monterey, and also mention-
ing Ibarra and Carrillo in terms of approval. If his
condemnation of the 'usurpation' of Echeandia's
party was more severe, and his praise for the 'loy-
alty' of Zamorano's party more flattering than was
called for by exact regard for the truth, the reason
must be sought in the policy of the administration
which this report was intended to please. 5
Echeandia was not less cheerful and prompt in
his submission to Figueroa, with whom his relations
both personal and political had been most friendly in
Mexico, than was Zamorano; but he ridiculed his
rival's pretensions to be, more than himself, beyond
the need of amnesty, and in all his communications
he defended his past acts. What he desired was not
pardon, but justification, and recognition of the posi-
tions he had assumed, 6 and he was annoyed at the
tone Figueroa felt himself obliged to adopt on the
subject. On the day of his arrival Figueroa sent
Echeandia both an official and a private letter, and a
friendly correspondence followed. 7 Echeandia ren-
dered valuable aid to the governor in his preliminary
investigations on the subject of missions from Febru-
ary to April. Orders brought by Figueroa required
him to report at Mexico, and he accordingly left Cal-
5 Figueroa, lu forme al Ministro de Guerra sobre los Acontecimientos de 1S31-2,
y Parte que tuvo en ellos el Capitan Agustin Zamorano, 1SJ3, MS. Dated March
23d, and accompanied by copies (not given) of 38 documents furnished by
Zamorano in support of his policy.
c The govt in Oct. 1833 ordered an investigation of his services, etc., in
order to decide whether he should receive pay as governor or as lieut-colonel
of engineers. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., xxi. 8. I do not know what decision
was reached.
7 Correspondence from Jan. 14th to Feb. 14th, with references to other
letters not extant. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 23-0, 7G-8, 83-7, 9G-100; Arch.
Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 73. Other communications on missions will be noticed
in another chapter, the latest from E. being dated March 19th.
244 FIGUEROA'S RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
ifornia never to return, sailing from San Diego May
14th, on the Catalina. There is no record that he
subsequently appeared in public life; but in 1856 he
was practising his profession as engineer in Mexico,
and is reported to have died before 1871. With this
officer's record during his residence of eight years and
more in California, the reader of the preceding chap-
ters is acquainted, and it is not, necessary to indulge
largely in repetitions; nevertheless, I append a bio-
graphical resume. 8 Echeandia we have found to be
8 Of Jos6 Maria Echeandia before he came to California nothing is known
beyond the fact that he held the rank of lieut-colonel of engineers, and was
probably connected with a college of engineers in Mexico. He fairly repre-
sented Mexican republicans of the better class. His appointment was in
Jan. 1825. He sailed from S. Bias in June, remained at Loreto until Oct.,
arrived at S. Diego in Oct. , and in Nov. received the command from Luis
Argiiello. See chap, i., this vol., on his arrival; chap. ii. on his political acts
in 1826-30, including his visits to the north, his quarrel with Gonzalez, and
his complaints and offers of resignation; chap. iii. on his quarrels with
Herrera; chap. iv. on his mission policy and controversies with the padres;
and chap, vii.-viii. on his acts after giving up the command to Victoria on
Jan. 31, 1831. Also chap. xi. for additional particulars of his secularization
policy. Echeandia was probably under 40 years of age in 1825. In person
lie was tall, slight, and well formed, with fair complexion, hair not quite
black, scanty beard — some say his hair and eyes were light, among them
Ignacio del Valle — and a pleasing face and expression. His health was very
delicate. In his speech he affected the Castilian pronunciation, noticeably
in giving the '11,' ' c,' and ' z ' their proper sounds. The following items from
various sources show something of his character. Gonzalez, Dxperiencias,
MS., 27, notes his affability to private soldiers. Valle, Do Pasado tie Gal.,
MS., 7-8, says he was so absent-minded as sometimes to ask his secretary
what his own name was before signing a document. J. J. Vallejo, Reminis-
cencias, 103-108, calls him a capricious despot, who. would carry out a whim
without regard to results. David Spence, Hist. Notes, MS., 15, asserts that
he had no energy. Torre, Reminiscencias, MS., 22, speaks of him as popular
but over-indulgent and careless. Vallejo, Hist. Gal., MS., ii. 46-7, 51, 110-
13, 116-17, and Alvarado, Hist. Gal, MS., ii. Ill, 140, 146-7, 106, are in-
clined to praise Echeandia in extravagant terms, mainly on account of his
somewhat radical republicanism. Pio Pico, Hist. Gal., MS., 21, pronounces
him affable but apathetic. Shea, Gath. Missions, 109, quotes Alfred Robinson
as calling him ' the scourge of California, and instigator of vice, who sowed
seeds of dishonor not to be extirpated while a mission remains to be robbed.'
Tnthill, Hist. Gal., 130, says 'he was contracted in his views, despotic in the
exercise of his powers, and selfish in his relations with foreigners.' Lieut
Romualdo Pacheco alludes to him as his worst enemy, but incapable of injur-
ing any one. Gale, writing to Cooper, Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxix. 104, calls
him a man of undecided character, trying to please everybody.
June 6, 1832, orders for E. to report at Mexico. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS.,
viii. 40. Oct. 30, 1833, orders to investigate his services in order to reach a
decision about his pay. Id., xxi. 8. In April 1828 he wrote to Guerra in
Mexico to pay his mother $100 without letting his wife know anything of
it. March 13, 1833, the comisario general alludes to an allowance of $100 to
Maria Salcedo, Echeandia's wife. Dept. St. Pav., Ben. Gom. and Treas., MS.,
ii. 65. Sailed from S. Diego, May 14, 1833. Dept. St. Pap., Den. Mil., MS.,
LAST OF ECHEANDIA. 245
a man of considerable talent and good education,
affable and kind-hearted, but weak, irresolute, and
lacking energy. He was disposed to be upright and
faithful, but lacked strength of principle for emergen-
cies. In the administration of justice and the en-
forcement of military discipline he was notably inef-
fective. He has been abused extensively by partisans
of the friars, but no man could have escaped such
abuse without a complete surrender to the mission
monopoly and a reckless disobedience to his instruc-
tions. He favored secularization, and his views were
sound, but he was not hasty or radical in effecting
the change, but rather the contrary. True, at the
very end of his rule he was induced by Padres to do
an illegal and unwise act, but that act did not go into
effect, and the padres had no good cause of offence.
No man in Echeandia's place, and faithfully repre-
senting the spirit of Mexican republicanism, could
have treated the friars better. His faults lay in an-
other direction, as already indicated.
Figueroa's early relations with the diputacion, the
last of the powers he had to conciliate, are not clearly
recorded, but were doubtless altogether friendly. 9
Before Figueroa's arrival some steps were taken by
the ayuntamientos for holding primary elections, and
lxxix. 23. Taylor, Odds and Ends, no. 14, says, with his usual inaccuracy,
that E. died in 1852. Mrs Ord, who knew him well in California, saw him
frequently in Mexico in 1855-6. He said that the allowance of half his pay
as director of the college of military engineers, which he left for his wife, had
not been paid while he was in Cal., and that he never succeeded in getting
it. He had some oil-mills and other property on which he with difficulty
supported himself until in 1835 providence sent an earthquake which so
damaged certain convents and dwellings of rich men as to render his profes-
sion of engineer very lucrative. In 1855 he was arrested for some opposition
to Santa Anna, but soon released. In 1871 Mrs Ord made inquiries for him,
and learned that he was dead, as were two step-daughters who had taken
care of him in his old age. Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 42-3.
9 Pico, Hist. Cal., MS., 40, says that F. sent a special communication to
each of the members, announcing the amnesty. Pico replied with a defence
of his acts. Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 200-3, relates that Osio, Alvarado,
and himself came at once to Monterey to offer their aid in maintaining order.
A long conference took place, and a dinner followed, and cordial relations
never ceased between the parties. Osio, Hist. Cal., MS., 223, tells us that F.
issued orders for an election and hastened the meeting of the diputacion.
246 FIGUEROA'S PULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
on March 24th the electors met at Monterey and
chose four new members for the assembly, also elect-
ing Juan Bandini as deputy to congress, with Jose
Antonio Carrillo as substitute. 10 There is no evi-
dence that the body as now constituted ever held any
session, or that any session was held in 1833 at all.
It would seem that the election of March must
have been declared illegal, for October 15th Figueroa
ordered a new election to be held according to the
Mexican plan of Zavaleta. This election was held
the 1st and 2d of December, at Monterey, on the
first of which days Bandini was again elected to con-
gress, and on the second the diputacion was renewed
by the election of all seven members. 11 They did
not meet until May of the following year.
We have seen that a few years earlier orders had
come from Mexico to establish a strong garrison in
the region north of San Francisco Bay, with a view
to protect that frontier from encroachments of for-
eigners; but nothing had really been effected be} 7 ond
a slight correspondence and investigation by Echean-
dfa. 12 Figueroa's instructions required him to pay
particular attention to the same subject, it being
10 Jan. 3, 1833, ayunt. of Los Angeles resolves to invite others to hold
primary elections so that the new gefe may find everything ready. Los Ang-
les, Arch., MS., iv. 77-8. March 21st, 24th, meetings of the partido electors
at Monterey. The vocales elected were: 4th, J. A. Carrillo, 5th, Manuel
Crespo, 6th, Jose Aguila, 7th, Tiburcio Tapia; Suplentes, Jose Perez, F. J.
Alvarado, and J. J. Vallejo. Adas de Elecciones, MS., 12-1 G; Dept. St. Pap.,
A /if/., MS., xi. 4-5. March 23d, J. J. de la Guerra writes to his father
that ' the enlightened ' — that is, the electors — are living so scandalously—
except his uncle Anastasio Carrillo — that 'even the English' are shocked.
Doc. Hist. Cal., MS., iv. 961. This election left Vallejo, Ortega, and Osio as
hold-over vocales in the 1st, 2d, and 3d places; but there was a decision
from Mexico — Victoria's work? — dated May 17, 1832, that Vallejo as a mili-
tary officer was not entitled to his seat. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., v. 9.
11 Adas de Elecciones, MS., 16-19; Leg. Pec, MS., ii. 226-7. The 7
vocales chosen were: 1. Carlos Carrillo, 2. Pio Pico, 3. Francisco de Haro, 4.
Joaquin Ortega, 5. J. A. Carrillo, 6. J. A. Estudillo, 7. Jose Castro. Oct.
15th, F.'s order for an election. Dept. St. Pap., Aug., MS., i. 134-6; x. 7-
8. Dec. 6th, F. orders surplus municipal funds to be sent in for the dip.
Vallejo, Doc. Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 193. Bandini had left S. Diego for Mexico
on the Catallna with Euheandia. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., Ixxix. 23,
25.
12 Chap. iv. of this volume.
NORTHERN FRONTIER. 247
deemed of the utmost importance that the northern
frontier up to latitude 42° be occupied by Mexicans,
either as settlers, soldiers, or missionaries, as soon
as possible. Accordingly in April the governor
announced his purpose to found a presidio. He
ordered Alferez Vallejo to make an exploration, select
a site, and offer lands to settlers, appealed to the mis-
sions for aid, called in the convict laborers from pri-
vate ranchos to work on the proposed fortifications,
and reported his purposes to the government. The
prefect of the northern missions, however, while fully
approving the project, declared that no aid could be
depended on, and so far as I can learn, nothing was
accomplished before the end of the year. 13
In March the governor had deemed the country
pacified, and good order restored, and so reported;
but his health was so impaired by rheumatic and
apoplectic attacks that he asked to be relieved of his
command. 14 His health improved, however, and from
July to September he made a tour of the south, occu-
pied largely in studying the condition of the missions ;
but while at San Diego on July 24th he addressed to
the minister of relations a confidential letter of warn-
ing against a "clique of conceited and ignorant men"
who were plotting to separate California from Mex-
ico, and as a means to that end would do all in their
power through their representative, Bandini, to se-
cure a separation of the military and civil commands,
and give the office of gefe politico to a Californian.
He declared himself strongly opposed to any such
change, which would be "the germ of eternal discord,"
as there was not a single Californian even tolerably
qualified for the office. His warning has every ap-
pearance of being prompted by personal ambition,
though he disavowed any desire to retain the office
13 Apr. 10th, 12th, F.'a letters to Garcia Diego, and Apr. loth, reply of
the latter. St. Pap., Miss, and (John., MS., ii. 299-308, Apr. 25th. P. Gu-
tierrez to F. from Solano. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 116.
14 March 25th, F. to min. of war. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 103.
248 FIGUEROA'8 RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
himself. Ho knew that the charge of a plan to secede
from Mexico was false, and his language was severe
and uncomplimentary, in marked contrast with that
he was wont to use in California; but there was in
Figueroa's character an observable element of policy
closely verging on hypocrisy. 15
Having returned to the capital, the governor had
his attention engaged to some extent in October by a
minor revolt at San Francisco, where a few soldiers,
including the escolta at Santa Clara, attempted by
irregular and unmilitary methods — though no force
seems to have been used — to get rid of their coman-
dante, Vallejo, whom they accused of ill treatment,
chiefly in the matter of furnishing food and clothing.
Vallejo was angry, and demanded the infliction of se-
vere penalties; but a court-martial merely ordered a
transfer of eight men to other presidios. 16
In addition to what has been presented in this chap-
ter, beyond the routine of official correspondence,
much of which relating to missions, commerce, finance,
and other general subjects will receive some attention
elsewhere, there is nothing more to be said of events
in California during 1833; but I deem it best to go
on with the annals of the following year, before calling
the attention of readers to certain important develop-
ments in Mexico.
The diputacion, whose acts form a prominent ele-
ment in the annals of 1834, assembled at the gov-
ernor's house 17 in Monterey May 1st, with Figueroa
in the chair as president, and all the seven vocales in
15 July 24, 1833, F. to min. of rel. in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS.,
lxxxviii. 11-12. We shall sec later that Bandini at this very time was work-
ing in congress for a separation of the commands. On Sept. 21st F. was at Loa
Angeles. Currillo (Z>.), Doc, MS., 79.
1G .S7. Pap., Sac, MS., xi. 49-54; Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 119, 178, 195.
]7 Jan. 2, 1834, Figueroa to Sec. Alvarado about furnishing a room for the
meetings. Carpets, curtains, wall-paper, seats, etc., all deemed indispensable
for the dignity of the body, but the most necessary articles are to be obtained
first. An appropriation will be asked for to cover the expense. Dept. St. Pap. ,
Ben. Mil., lxxxviii. 19. Alvarado gives a list of needed furniture to the value
of $299; only §10 in the box. Id., 10.
THE DIPUTACION IN 1S34. 249
attendance except Pio Pico. I append a resume of
proceedings at the successive sessions, as compact as
it can be intelligibly made. 13 The president opened
18 Sessions of the diputacion territorial of Cal. in 1834. Recorded in Leg-
islative Records, MS., ii. May 1st, the oath was administered by the presi-
dent; the members took their seats; and Figueroa delivered an address.
Committees appointed: ways and means, J. A. Carrillo, Haro, and Estudillo;
government and police, C. A. Carrillo, Pico, and Ortega; public works, Haro,
J. A. Carrillo, and Castro; public instruction, C. A. Carrillo, J. A. Carrillo,
and Estudillo; industry and agriculture, Ortega, Pico, and Castro; statistics,
J. A. Carrillo, Haro, and Pico; colonization, Ortega, Castro, and Estudillo;
vacant lands, C. A. Carrillo, Pico, and Ortega; municipal regulations, J. A.
Carrillo, C. A. Carrillo, and Haro; roads and highways, Ortega, Castro, and
Estudillo. Adjourned to 10 a. m. of next day. Alvarado, sec. Secret ses-
sion. Information from Mex. that the European cabinets had agreed to make
the Infante D. Francisco de Paula emperor of Mexico, with recommendations
of Zealand vigilance. Passed to committee on govt. (p. 34-50.) May 2d,
6 despatches from the gov., of this and the past year, some enclosing or-
ders from Mex. on secularization, duty on otter-skins, municipal regulations
of Monterey, and furnishing of a hall for meetings, referred to com. On mo-
tion of Figueroa, the formation of regulations for proceedings of the dip. was
made a subject of preference, and meanwhile Tuesday, Thursday, and Satur-
day were to be the days of meeting. J. A. Carrillo moved to fully organize
the ayuntamiento of Sta Barbara, and was told by the president to put his
proposition in due form and let it take its course, (p. 51-4.) May 3d,
25 expedientes on land grants submitted for approval and referred to com.
A letter of C. A. Carrillo, dated in Mex. 1831, was read asking the dip. to pe-
tition the govt for schools, and organic law, and the separation of the com-
mands. Carrillo spoke on what he had accomplished in Mex., and the 1st and
2d points were referred. Communication from the ayunt. on expense of a
road. Resignation of secretary offered on account of illness. Proposed that
sessions begin at 10 A. M. and last 3 hours. Prop, that the comandante of
Sta R. be deprived of judicial powers, and that 2 regidores be added to the
ayunt., the place having 940 inhabitants — to be read three times. May 6th,
petition of S. Diego for an ayuntamiento. Public buildings for Monterey.
Prop, to have the mission lands surveyed, and to require inventories of mis-
sion property. May 10th, minor municipal matters of Monterey andBranci-
forte. Prop, to fix bounds of S. F. mission. Hours of meeting not settled.
The Monterey road must be 'paralyzed' for the present for want of funds;
casas consistorlales and jails should have the preference — so reports the com.
Report in favor of accepting Alvarado's resignation. Also in favor of asking
Mex. for $2,500 per year for schools, and for an organic law. Many land
grants approved by the com. 2d reading of various propositions, (p. 55-08.)
May 13th, foreign lumbermen. Artillery militia. Days fixed for discussion
of certain matters. Haro's proposition to survey mission lands discussed and
defeated. May 15th, Mex. secularization law of Aug. 17, 1833, referred to
com. on missions(?). Regulation of weights and measures, also of brands, con-
sidered. Funds of Branciforte. Many minor measures postponed as belong-
ing to general subjects to be treated as a whole. Further discussion on the
Monterey calzada. Ortega complained of the imperfections of municipal
govt and proposed the early formation of ordenanzas for the ayunt. Carrillo
and Castro appointed to visit prisons, (p. G3-79. ) May 17th, many land grants
submitted, and approved. Sec. Alvarado agrees to serve a month longer.
May 20th, petition for fixing mission boundaries sent back to await the arrival
of Hijar, who was coming with a special commission to regulate secularization,
(p. 80-6.) May 22d, duties of foreigners as citizens. Land grants. More
discussion on mission bounds. Report on the Monterey calzada. Mission in-
ventories. Proposition to assign lands and to stop the slaughter of mission
250 FIGUEROA'S RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
the sessions with an address, in which he reviewed the
condition of the country, and the character of the
legislation needed. In high-flown language the speaker
predicted great prosperity, now that Spanish tyranny
was a thing of the past, and the diputacion was at
cattle, (p. 86-93.) Figueroa absent on account of illness. May 24th, re-
port of com. on missions on law of secularization. The national govt to be
asked for instructions. May 26th, secret session called to consider the re-
ports of a conspiracy formed by P. Duran and Capt. Guerra. Jose" Maria
Maldonado, sec. (p. 2-10.) May 27th, ayunt. of Sta B. Dip. declines to
call in suplente Estrada to take Pico's place, (p. 93-6.) May 30th, unim-
portant. Figueroa very busy in preparing correspondence for Mex. by the
Dorotea. June 3d, further discussion on secularization as per prop, of
May 24. (p. 97-103.) June 12th, convicts. Pico's absence excused, as he was
ill. Minor communications answered. Petitions of individuals asking privi-
leges or redress of grievances. Land grants. Mission lands again, and slaughter
of cattle, (p. 104-12. ) June 16th, municipal funds. Land grants. Resignation
of Alvarado again postponed. June 17th, foreign citizens. Wild stock. First
reading of report on municipal and legislative regulations. June 19th, land
grants. First reading of several reports on topics already mentioned, (p.
113-21.) June 21st, Branciforte affairs. Land grants. Discussion on live-
stock regulations. Discussion on reglamento postponed until the absent mem-
bers should arrive, (p. 121-9.) June 26th, much unfinished business. Sec.
Alvarado again, it not being quite clear what he wanted, but he was 'exon-
erated' from his place. His accounts and his position as contador were in
some way involved. Long discussion on some articles of a reglamento for
legislative proceedings, (p. 129-37.) June 28th, land grants. Discussion
of various matters relating to municipal govt. (p. 138-41.) July 1st, Mal-
donado elected sec. in Alvarado's place, and sworn in. Land grants. Munic.
govt continued. July 3d, land grants. Munic. govt. Com. on ways
and means instructed to hurry, as the dip. lacks funds, (p. 142-6.) July
5th, 8th, land grants. A moderate slaughter of mission cattle allowed, (p.
146-8. ) Secret session of July 8th to consider charges of malversation of mis-
sion property against P. Anzar. (p. 10-11.) July 10th, slaughter of mission
cattle at S. Luis Rey. Land grants. Minor reports read and days set for
discussion. Long discussion of reports on munic. revenues, (p. 149-63.) July
12th-15th, 19th, 22d, some land grants and unimportant matters, (p.
161-5.) On July 19th there was a secret (?) session, at which a prop, relating
to administrators of missions was considered; and on July 22d, when the
same subject was continued, (p. 11-13.) July 24th, munic. regul. and reve-
nues, (p. 165-7.) July 26th, discussion on lands (not given). July 29th,
articles 8-53, titles 3-6, of a reglamento for the dip. discussed and approved,
(p. 163-80.) July 30th, land grants. Liquor tax. Completion of the regla-
mento. Tit. 8-14, art. 54-74. (p. 181-8.) July 31st, unimportant. Extra
sessions on administrators of missions, July 29th; on provisional regulation
for secularization, July 30th, 31st. 23 articles approved, (p. 13-28.) Aug.
1st, 2d, land grants and prop, to form an ayunt. for S. Diego and one for
Sta B., increasing that of Los Angeles, (p. 189, 28.) Oct. 17th-18th, extra
session to consider Hijar's claims as gefe politico and director of colonization,
(p. 190-6.) Pico sworn in. Oct. 22d, secret session on the same subject.
Report of com. 13 articles approved, (p. 29-34.) Oct. 23d, 25th, 2Sth,
30th, 31st, minor local matters. Few details, (p. 190-9.) Nov. 3d, discus-
sion and approval on first reading on account of approaching end of the ses-
sions, of several prop, relating to the colony and to secularization. Extra
session in evening, action on preservation of timber. Members authorized to
retire to their homes, (p. 199-212.) The sessions of May lst-20th arc also
recorded in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. , MS., ii. 45-96.
ACTS OF THE DIPUTACXON. 251
liberty to resume its deliberations. There was much
to be done. All was yet in embryo; but the speaker
had faith that by patient effort California, if she could
not aspire to absolute perfection, might one day figure
at the side of Jalisco and Zacatecas ! One great ob-
stacle had been the tendency of his predecessors to
assume too many powers and duties for the political
rule, as if representing an absolute government. A
proper division of power according to the constitution
should be effected, and the people must learn not to
trouble the gefe politico with every petty affair. Munici-
pal government was in a sad state of disorganization ;
local officers incompetent, and the people lacking in
respect for the authorities. Schools were neglected;
and there were no jails nor other public buildings
worthy of the national honor. Municipal revenues
were far from sufficient for necessary expenses; he
had been obliged to borrow money to fit up a room
for this meeting. Agricultural and stock-raising regu-
lations and restrictions had been oppressive. He re-
viewed the evils of the monastic despotism, and the
measures taken and required to raise the neophytes
from degradation, noted the necessity of certain public
works at Monterey, and the importance of a fort on
the northern frontier. His discourse was warmly ap-
proved by the vocales, and he took a very prominent
'part in subsequent proceedings. 19
The labors of the cliputacion were very largely de-
voted to the consideration of matters connected with
the secularization of the missions, and in this respect
will be more fully noticed in another chapter. 20 An-
other prominent matter was that of finance and rev-
enue, of which I shall also have something to say
separately. 21 Grants of public lands made by the
19 Besides the copies of the speech in Leg. Pec., MS., ii. 34-49; Dept. St.
Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 45-50, I have also, Figueroa, Discurso de Apertura de
la Deputation Territorial en 1° de Mayo, 1834, MS., the author's original
blotter copy.
20 See chap. xi. of this volume.
21 The reports of the com. of ways and means on July 10th, 12th, 24th,
2Gth, 30th, on revenue and taxation, are given in St. Pap., Miss, and Colon.,
252 FIGUEROA'S RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
new governor in accordance with the laws were pre-
sented for investigation and approval at nearly every
session. To these grants attention will be given in
the proper place. The Hijar and Padres colony, to
be treated fully later in this chapter and in the next,
furnished the assembly matter for discussion in the
later sessions of the year. Action on municipal gov-
ernment, and many minor items of legislation, will
naturally come up more or less fully in connection
with local annals; here it need only be stated, that
not only were the older pueblo governments perfected,
but ayuntamientos, or town councils, were organized
at San Dieo-o and San Francisco, where thev had
never existed before. 22 With the abstract of proceed-
ings already given, the references of this paragraph,
and the mention of a grand ball given on November
1st, at the capital, in honor of this body, 23 I dis-
miss the legislative doings of 1834; but append at
some length the reglamento of the diputacion en
resume, not only as a document of some interest and
importance, but as the first book ever printed, in Cal-
ifornia. 24
MS., ii. 238-53, much more fully than in the Leg. Rec proper; and the
results were printed in the edict of Aug. Gth. Plan, de Propios y Arbiirios
para fondos Municipales, 1834, m Earliest Printing in Cal. I shall speaK of
financial topics for 1831-5 in chap. xiii.
22 Leg. Pec, MS., ii. 188-9, 214-5. Figueroa's edict of Aug. 6th. Dept. St.
Pap., Mont., MS., vi. 33. F.'s orders on boundaries. St. Pap., Miss, and
Colon., MS., ii. 217-20; Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 316; xxxi. 133, 137, 140. S.
Diego, Arch., MS., 30, 36, 56, 63. There is some dispute respecting S. F.,
but of that more elsewhere.
23 Printed invitation to this ball in Earliest Printing in Gal.
21 Reglamento Provisional para el Gobierno interior de laEcma Diputacion
Territorial de la Alta California, aprobada por la misma Corporacion en
sesion de 31 de Julio del presents afio. Monterrey, 1834. Imprentade A. V.
Zamorano y C a - 16mo. 16 p. I have never seen any other copy of this rare
little work than that in my possession. It was presented to me by Carlos
Olvera, son of Agustin Olvera.
Tit. i. — Installation. — Art. 1. Regular sessions will open May 1st, new
members taking the oath before the president. 2. Sessions to close on Aug.
31st; but the dip. will meet in extra sessions whenever convoked by the gefe
politico. 3. Form of oath. 4. Then the pres. shall say aloud: 'The dip., etc.,
is declared legitimately constituted. ' 5. One more than half the members must
be present for an ordinary session.
Tit. ii. — Presidency. — Art. 6. Duties of the pres.: (1) to open and close
the sessions; (2) to see that all observe 'orden, compostura, y silencio;' (3)
to present all communications; (4) to determine what subjects shall be discussed,
TOPICS OF 1834. 253
There yet remain to be noticed in the annals of 1834
a few detached topics before I take up the most
prominent of all, the colony. The negotiations of
giving preference to those of common utility except by agreement on motion of
some vocal; (5) to give the floor alternately to the members for and against;
(0) to call members to order; (7) to sign the records as soon as approved, and
correspondence to the govt and to ayuntamientos; (8) to convoke extra sessions
for serious motives. 7. If his ruling is objected to, one shall speak for and
one against, and the majority shall decide. 8. In performing his regular
duties, he may remain seated; but in discussion, he must ask for the floor and
be subject to the same rules as others.
Tit. iii. — Secretary. — Art. 9. Sec. appointed by the dip. according to law
of June 23, 1813, receiving for the present $50 per month. 10. Duties: (1.)
to keep a record of proceedings 'laconic and clear,' without criticising
speeches or reports; (2) to write and sign communications from the dip. ; (3)
to insert in the acta of 1st day of each month a list of expedientes in various
stages of advancement; (4) to lay before the dip. different subjects in the
following order: 1st, the acta of preceding session; 2d, official communica-
tions; 3d, private communications; 4th, propositions of members; 5th, reports
fixed for discussion; 6th, reports for 1st reading.
Tit. iv. — Sessions. — Art. 11. Sessions public, lasting 3 hours from 10
A. M., and longer at the request of any member. 12. Sessions on Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday, except holidays religious and secular. 13. Secret
session following the public one whenever the subject may demand reserve.
14. Any member may ask for a secret session, and the pres. will call it. 15.
In a secret session will be presented: (1) confidential communications to the
dip.; (2) ecclesiastical and religious matters; (3) other subjects which the
pres. may deem to demand reserve. 1G. Secret sessions to begin by a discus-
sion whether the subject requires such a session, and to close by asking if the
proceedings are to be kept strictly secret. 17. Members must be present
from beginning to end, decently dressed; be seated without preference; and
observe the silence, decorum, and deportment corresponding to their posi-
tion. 18. A member unable to attend for serious cause must notify the pres.;
but a recorded permission of the dip. is necessary for more than 3 days' ab-
sence. 19. Such licenses cannot be granted to more than 2 members.
Tit. v. — Motions. — Art. 20. Motions must be presented in writing, signed
by the author, to the sec, worded like the resolution which is desired. 21.
Every motion to be discussed as soon as made; the author will explain his
motives, and 2 members may speak for and against; then it goes to the proper
committee. 22. No prop, can be approved without first passing to the com.,
except by express consent of the dip.
Tit. vi. — Committees. — Art. 23. To facilitate business, committees, both
permanent and special, will be appointed to examine matters and put them
in shape for final action. 24. The permanent committees will be on ways
and means, colonization, vacant lands, missions, government and police,
municipal regulations, public works, industry, public instruction, and statis-
tics. The number may be increased or diminished by the dip. 25. The dip.
will also classify special com. according to nature of business. 2G. The pres.
must name permanent committees on the day of installation after adminis-
tering the oath. 27. A com. will consist of 2 or 3 members, but may be in-
creased by consent of the dip. 28. No member shall refuse a place assigned
him on a com. 29. On granting leave of absence, the dip. will name mem-
bers to replace the absentees on com. 30. The same must be done when
members of a com. have a personal interest in the matter considered; neither
can such interested parties vote. 31. The gefe politico, or the senior vocal
when acting as pres.. cannot serve on com. 32. Com. must render their
reports in writing, and conclude them with simple propositions to be voted
254 FIGUEEOA'S RULE— EIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
1833 respecting the fortification and settlement of the
northern frontier have been mentioned. I may add
that in the spring of that year, Vallejo had made a
on. 33. A com. report must be signed by a majority; the dissenting member
to give his opinion in writing. 34. Com. may call for any doc. or instruc-
tions from territorial archives or offices, except where secrecy is required.
35. A receipt must be given for such doc, and they must be promptly re-
turned. 30. A com. may suspend action on a subject by reporting the rea-
sons, and it will be considered in secret session. 37. A com. keeping an
expediente in hand over 15 days must report to the pres. 38. Any member
may be present and speak in com. meetings, but without a vote. 39. The
chairman of a com., the one first named, will be responsible for all expedientes
delivered to him.
Tit. vii. — Discussions. — Art. 40. Every report will have a 1st and 2d
reading in different sessions, and discussion will immediately follow the 2d
reading. 41. At the hour of discussion there must be read the original mo-
tion, the communication that gave rise to it, the com. report, and dissenting
vote, if any. 42. The pres. will give the floor to members who ask it en pro
6 en contra. 43. A com. report must first be discussed as a whole, and later
each article separately. 44. Members to speak alternately for and against
in order of asking the floor. 45. Members of the com. and the author of the
prop, may speak three times, others only twice. 46. No one can be called to
order except through the pres.: (1) when an article of this reg. is infringed;
(2) when some person or corporation is insulted. 47. Speaking of faults com-
mitted by subordinate functionaries of the dip. is not cause for calling to
order; but in case of calumny, the injured party retains his light to do so.
48. No discussion to be suspended except (1) for adjournment; (2) when the
dip. may agree to give the preference to another more important subject; (3)
for some suspensive motion approved by the dip. 49. Any member may call
for the reading of any law or doc. to illustrate the matter under discussion,
but not otherwise. 50. After the speeches according to this regl., the pres.
will direct the sec. to ask if the question has been sufficiently discussed; if so
a vote will be taken; if not, after one member has spoken on each side, the
question will be repeated. 51. Discussion being declared sufficient, it shall
be asked if the report shall be voted on as a whole; if yes, being approved in
general, a discussion of the articles separately will follow; but if it be not
approved as a whole, the question shall be to return it to the com. for amend-
ment or not; and if the decision be in the negative, the proposition is to be
considered defeated. 52. The discussion on any article being closed, it will
be approved by vote, or returned to the com. 53. A report being rejected as
a whole or in any of its articles, the dissenting report, if any, is to be discussed.
54. A measure having been approved may be amended by any member in
writing before it is entered in the minutes; and the amendment being admit-
ted shall be passed to the com.; otherwise it is to be considered as defeated.
Tit. viii. — Voting. — Art. 55. Voting to be done in one of two ways: (1)
by the rising of those who approve, while opponents remain seated; (2) by
calling of names. 53. All voting to be decided by an absolute plurality of
votes. 57. In case of a tie, a new vote is to be taken after discussion; if there
be still a tie, the matter is to be postponed until the next session; and if there
be still no decision, it is to be settled by lot. 58. No member can be excused
from voting on matters subject to his deliberation.
Tit. ix.— Resolutions.— Art. 59. The resolutions of the dip. shall be offi-
cially communicated to the gefe politico when absent.
Tit. x. — Ceremonial. — Art. 00. Neither pres. nor members may wear arms
at the sess. Gl. Members presenting themselves to take the oath after the
sess. are opened must be received at the inner door of the hall by two mem-
bers named by the pres. 02. The dip. when in sess. will attend as a body
at religious and political ceremonies.
PETALUMA AND SANTA ROSA. 255
tour of inspection to Bodega and Ross; 25 and that in
the autumn the same officer had endeavored to begin
in a small way settlements at Petaluma and Santa
Rosa. Ten heads of families, fifty persons in all,
agreed to settle at the former place, hitherto unoccu-
pied; but the padre at San Francisco Solano, hearing
of the project, sent a few men to build a hut and
place a band of horses at that point in order to estab-
lish a claim to the land as mission property. Two or
three of the settlers remained and put in crops at
Petaluma, Vallejo himself having ten bushels of wheat
sown on his own account. The padre's representatives
also remained, and the respective claims were left to
be settled in the future. Much the same thing seems
to have occurred at Santa Rosa, where a few settlers
went, and to which point the padre sent two neophytes
with some hogs as the nucleus of a mission claim.
All this before January 8, 1834. 26 In his speech of
Tit. xi. — Guard- — Art. 63. The dip. will have a military guard whenever
it may be deemed necessary. 64. The guard will be subject only to the orders
of the pres., who shall demand it from the proper authorities. 65. Thepres.
is to arrange the number of sentinels and report to the dip. 66. The guard
shall form in line at the entrance and exit of the pres. ; and the sentinel must
shoulder arms at the arrival or departure of a member.
Tit. xii. — Treasury. — Art. 67. The surplus of municipal funds, and rev-
enue from branches which the dip. and govt may designate, will constitute a
fund for general expenses of the territory and the ordinary expenses of the
dip. 68. To administer the fund, a person outside of the corporation shall be
chosen, who, besides being of 'notorious integrity,' shall give bonds. Salary
to be fixed by the dip. 69. The distribution of funds shall be made by the
treasurer as he may be ordered; and he must render a monthly cash account.
Tit. xiii. — Audience. — Art. 70. Spectators must wear no arms, show re-
spect and silence, and take no part in discussions by any demonstrations.
7 1 . Any person disturbing order will be ordered sent out by the pres. ; or if
the offense be grave, arrested and delivered within 24 hours to the proper
judge. 72. When such means do not suffice to prevent disorders, the pres.
will adjourn the public session and continue a secret one. 73. The same
course to be adopted when prudent measures fail to restore order when dis-
turbed by members.
Tit. xiv. — Observance of the Reglamento. — Art. 74. This regl. is to be ob-
served by the dip. provisionally. 75. Its observance will be absolute when
it shall have been approved by the federal congress. 76. The dip. may re-
solve doubts respecting the articles, in accordance with art. 74-5, and may
add to or amend them, reporting to congress.
25 Vallejo's report was dated May 5, 1833. Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 140. All
that remains to be said of the Russians in California, from 1831 to 1846, will
be found in chap, vi., vol. iv., Hist. Cal.
26 All that is known of this earliest occupation is contained in three letters
of Vallejo to Figueroa, the first dated Oct. 3, 1833, in St. Pap. Miss, and
256 FIGUEROA'S RULE-HUAR AND PADRES COLONY. .
May 1st to the diputacion, Figueroa mentioned the
plan for northern settlement, but said nothing to in-
dicate that any actual progress had been made. 27 The
14th of May, however, he sentenced a criminal to
serve out his term of punishment "at the new estab-
lishment about to be founded at Santa Rosa." 23 In
June the rancho of Petal uma was granted by the
governor to Vallejo, and the grant approved by the^
diputacion, this being virtually an end of the mission
claim. 29 Respecting subsequent developments of
1834-5 in the Santa Rosa Valley, the records are not
satisfactory; but Figueroa, hearing of the approach of
a colony from Mexico, resolved to make some prepa-
rations for its reception, and naturally thought of the
northern establishment, which he resolved to visit in
person. All that we know positively of the trip is
that he started late in August, extended his tour to
Ross, examined the country, selected a site, and hav-
ing left a small force on the frontier, returned to Mon-
terey the 12th of September. 30 To these facts there
Colon., MS., ii. 316-17; the second, of Jan. 8, 1834, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii.
211; and the third, merely stating that the padre had consented to the settlers'
remaining temporarily, of Jan. 13th, in Id., ii. 218. It is in the latter letter
that I find the name Sta Rosa applied to the region for the first time, though
the valley had been certainly once and probably several times traversed by
the Spaniards. There is a newspaper story to the effect that in 1820 Friar
Aniaras (Amoros?) with a single companion wandering northward from S.
Rafael, went up the Chocoalami stream to Lucas Point, where they baptized
an Indian girl on the day of Sta Rosa, being driven away immediately after
the ceremony by hostile gentiles. Gilroy Leader, March 19, 1875, and other
papers. Fernandez, Cosas de Ccd., MS., 87-8, also speaks vaguely of attempts
in 1829 to found an establishment at Sta Rosa. It is very probable that the
padres from S. Rafael or Solano reached this region on several occasions, and
that the name Sta Rosa was applied from the day, during one of these visits,
when some particular locality was explored or some notable event occurred;
but I have found no original record of these occurrences.
27 Leg. Bee, MS., ii. 48. He alludes, however, rather to the foundation of
a fort than to settlement.
™Dcpt. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxviii. 23.
29 Leg. Bee., MS., ii. 118-22. Vallejo's claim to Petaluma as finally con-
firmed by the U. S. authorities rested on a later grant by Gov. Micbeltorena.
30 This is Figueroa's own statement in his Manifesto, p. 7, except the time
of starting, about which I know only that F. was still at Monterey on Aug.
21st. JDept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 172. I find not a single document in any ar-
chive bearing on the subject. Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., iii. 22-7; Alvarado,
Hist. Cal., MS., iii. 33-4; and Fernandez, Cosasde CM., MS., 91-5, give long
and circumstantial narratives, the last taken, as is claimed, from F.'s report to
the min. of war, of F.'s expedition to the north, which they represent as
PLOTS OF GUERRA, DURAN, AND PICO. 257
may be added, as probably accurate, the statements of
several Californians, to the effect that the site selected
was where Vallejo's settlers and the Solano neophytes
had already erected some rude buildings, that the new
place was named Santa Anna y Farias, in honor of
the president and vice-president of Mexico, and that
the settlement was abandoned next year, because the
colonists refused to venture into a country of hostile
Indians. 31
An amusing episode of this year's history was a
charge of conspiracy against "those irreconcilable foes
of our country, Captain Don Jose de la Guerra y Norie-
ga, Fr. Narciso Duran, Fr. Tomas Estenega, and Ser-
geant Jose Antonio Pico." The revelation reached the
capital May 26th by a special messenger, who brought
letters from An^el Ramirez, Antonio M. Luofo, and
Padre Bias Orclaz, to the effect that Duran and Guerra
had ridiculed often the federal system, that mysterious
papers had been signed, that money had been trans-
ferred from San Gabriel to Santa Barbara, and that
the soldier Romero had been made to sign a paper by
Pico without knowing its purport. Figueroa hast-
ened to convene the diputacion in secret session to
consider the momentous news. All the members were
an Indian campaign. Vallejo at the new settlement had some trouble with
the Satiyomes under Sucarra, and a series of bloody battles ensued. The
Indians were defeated, losing hundreds in killed and captives; but many
soldiers were also killed; and finally Vallejo sent to F. for aid, and he came
in person with a large force. The Indians were frightened and made a treaty.
This is but a bare skeleton of the story, because, in the absence of any origi-
nal evidence, I deem it either wholly unfounded or a gross exaggeration of
some very trifling hostilities. If the expedition be considered a distinct and
subsequent one from that mentioned by Figueroa, the improbabilities of the
statements are increased rather than diminished. Richardson, Hist. Vallejo,
MS., and in the New Age, and Napa Reporter, Oct. 17, 1874, tells a similar
tale.
31 In a letter of June 24, 1835, Figueroa alludes to a town which had been
outlined and begun — but apparently abandoned — at Sta Rosa; but no name is
mentioned. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS.,ii. 40G. Vallejo, Hist. Cat, MS.,
iii. 10-11, says Zamorano surveyed the site, and F. struck the first blow.
Juarez, Narration, MS. , 1-2, says the site of Santa Anna y Farias was on Mark
West Creek. An article in the S. Jose Pioneer, July 20, 1878, affirms that it
was on the land of the late Henry Mizer, just where Mark West Creek de-
bouches into the Sta Rosa plain, near a large redwood tree! Several Califor-
nians state that F. was at the new town in the spring of 1835, but this was
hardly possible.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 17
258 FIGUEROA'S EULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
in favor of decisive measures; Jose Antonio and Car-
los Carrillo, believing their personal influence would
check any outbreak that might result from "ignorance
and blind confidence in the Spanish friars," were in-
structed to proceed to the south at once; and a com-
mittee favored the arrest of the accused, and granted
the governor all needed powers to act. That same
day numerous orders were despatched southward to
military officers. Troops were ordered from place to
place; the general prepared to maintain at any cost
the republican integrity of California, and Captain
Gutierrez was infracted to arrest the conspirators and
bring them to an immediate trial. In five days. Jose
Antonio Carrillo reported the charges unfounded. In
August Gutierrez reported to the same effect; and
Figueroa decided accordingly that the good fame of
the parties involved was unimpaired. Alfred Robin-
son gives probably the key of the mystery, when he
states that Guerra was negotiating for the purchase
of a rancho, an operation requiring a search of the
archives at San Gabriel, long conferences, and the sig-
natures of several witnesses. It was the remark of
one of the latter, an ignorant fellow, distorted by the
personal enmity of certain persons, which created such
commotion at the territorial capital. 32
I may note in passing that the junta of partido
electors met at Monterey October 16th-19th,and chose
Jose Antonio Carrillo as deputy to congress for 1835—
6, to succeed Bandini, who, as we shall see a little later,
had already returned to California. Mariano G. Va-
llejo was elected as substitute. 03 I may further allude
to the fact that Figueroa sent to the supreme govern-
ment a comprehensive report on revenues and their
administration, 34 and the kindred fact that complaints
32 Leg. Rec, MS., ii. 2-10. Communications of May 26th, 27th, 31st, Aug.
2d, Cth, in Dcpt. St. Pap., MS.,iii. 149-50; 170-1; Depl, St. Pap., Ben. Mil,
MS., lxxviii. 23-39. Robinson's Life in Cal., 157-9.
33 ActasdeEkccion.es, MS., 19-21; Guerra, Doc, MS., vn. 159-63; Vallejo,
Doc, MS., ii. 313, 340.
34 Figueroa, Cosas Financieras de Cal, 1834, MS. Dated Nov. 28th. The
document will be noticed later.
THE COLONY PLANNED. 259
of destitution among the troops came in frequently,
especially from the south. Figueroa, even, could not
feed and clothe troops to their satisfaction with tine
words and loyal purposes. As of old, the missions
were often called upon for supplies.
Let us turn backward to 1833, and southward to the
capital of the republic, where Californian affairs were
attracting more attention perhaps than ever before.
This was largely due to the influence of Jose Maria
Padres, whose schemes of a few years before are fresh
in the mind of the reader, and were by no means aban-
doned when their author was sent out of the country
by Victoria in 1831. He left behind a party of ar-
dent supporters in the far north, and went away vow-
ing to return with full powers to carry out his pro-
posed reforms. Of his influence and actions during
1832, and of his relations with Congressman Carrillo,
nothing is known; but, not being politically in sym-
pathy with the administration, he probably kept some-
what quiet in public and awaited his time. Privately,
however, he was loud and enthusiastic in his praises
of California, and labored earnestly to interest his
friends in that country as a field for colonization.
Many were led to regard his plans with favor, the most
prominent of the number being Jose Maria Hijar, a
gentleman of property, influence, and reputation. By
the spring of 1833, the two had devised a project of
taking a colony to California, and had made some
progress toward its realization.
Now fortune began to smile on the empresarios
most remarkably. In April Valentin Gomez Farias,
a warm personal and political friend of Padres, and
perhaps already interested in his scheme, was elected
vice-president, and became acting president on the
retirement of Santa Anna. Soon, perhaps in June,
there came the news that Figueroa was ill and de-
sired to be relieved of office, which would throw the
military command into the hands of Padres himself, he
260 FIGUEROA'S RULE— HI JAR AND PADRES COLONY.
as ayudante inspector being already second in rank. 35
Better still, he succeeded through his influence with
the president in obtaining for his associate Hijar on
July 15th the appointment of gefe politico. 36 Next
day the same man was appointed director of coloniza-
tion, or of the colony in process of organization, and of
the new establishments to be founded in California.
He was to receive a salary of $1,000, in addition to
that of $3,000 for his services as political chief, and he
might name a secretary to receive $1,500. 37 Padres
himself, by the minister of relations, at what date does
not appear, was made sub-director. About this time
there appeared on the scene to represent California
in congress a new deputy to take the place of Car-
rillo — none other than Juan Bandini, who as luck
would have it was one of Padres' northern disciples,
and who lost no time in identifying himself with the
new schemes. 38 Largely by influence of the com-
bination, the law of August 17, 1833, was passed,
35 July 12, 1833, Padres ordered to assume the command if his chief should
continue disabled on his arrival. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 288; Fi-
gueroa, Manifesto, 4. Sept. 12th, Com. gen. announces that P. is ordered to
Cal. to take command if F.'s illness continues. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and
Treas., MS., ii. 57. The order was answered by F. on July 18, 1834, by a
statement that his health was restored.
36 July 15, 1832, Garcia to Figueroa, who was at his own request relieved
with thanks for his faithful services. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii.
296-7; Figueroa, Manifesto, 5-6. This was received in February, and answered
on May 18, 1834, of course with a promise to deliver the office to Hijar on his
arrival.
37 July 16, 1833, Garcia to Hijar. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii.
207-9. Sept. 17th, Com. gen. Mendoza at Arizpe to Sub-corn. Herrera, an-
nouncing Hijar's appointments and salary.
38 Bandini. it will be remembered, had been elected in March. May 7th, ad-
ministrator of customs at Monterey could giveB. only $100 of 8400 due him as
dittos. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Cust.-H., MS., ii. 13. He had sailed from S. Diego
in May 1833. July 29th, a bill by Bandini in 10 articles on the favorite sub-
ject of dividing the commands and granting an organic law received its first
reading in congress. St. Pap., Sac., MS., xviii. 51-3. It will be remembered
that this same month, at S. Diego, Figueroa wrote an argument against the
measure and a warning against B.'s revolutionary schemes. Aug. 6th, Bandini
announces to the Californians that he has assumed his functions and will do
all in his power for their interests, the national authorities being well dis-
posed. Dept. St. Pap., Any., MS., x. 5. The announcement took the form
of a printed address to his constituents, preserved also in the Pioneer Soc.
Library, S. Francisco. Of Carrillo I hear nothing in 1833, except that on Jan.
27th, perhaps as he was starting homeward, the comisario was ordered to pay
him $3,000 for viaticos. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., ii. 64;
and in 1834, $500 was paid him on the account. Id., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxi. 4.
GOOD FORTUNE AT THE BEGINNING. 261
requiring immediate secularization of the missions;
and a supplementary decree of November 26th au-
thorized the adoption of such measures as might be
necessary to assure colonization and carry seculariza-
tion into effect, using "in the most convenient man-
ner the revenues of the pious fund to furnish resources
for the commission and the families now in this cap-
ital bound for that territory." 39 I may add that be-
sides the vice-president, the diputado from California,
the territorial gefe politico, and the prospective co-
mandante general, Padres numbered among the ad-
herents of his plan our old friends Jose Maria Her-
rera, now re-appointed sub-comisario of revenues, and
Anorel Ramirez, who was sent to take charge of the
Monterey custom-house. Truly, the ayudante inspect-
or's star was in the ascendant, all obstacles to the
success of his schemes, whatever those schemes were,
being apparently removed.
Respecting the organization of the colony itself,
we have but little of original record. The terms of-
fered were $10 to each family at the start, transporta-
tion by land to San Bias, three reals per day to each
person for rations during the march, free passage by sea
from San Bias to California, a farm from the public
lands for each man, rations to the amount of four reals
per day to each adult and two reals to each child for a
year, and a certain amount of live-stock and tools — all
the aid received after arrival, apparently in the nature
of an advance, to be repaid by the colonists later. The
system did not differ materially from that under
which earlier colonists had come to California. 40 The
39 Copies of the secularization decrees of Aug. 17th and Nov. 26th will
be given in chap. xi. Figueroa's regulations of Aug. 9, 1834, were in accord-
ance with the former.
40 The $10 advance, 37.5 cents for travelling, and free passage by sea, are
mentioned in Hijar's original appointment. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS.,
ii. 207-8. Most of the colonists in their statements say that the allowance
for food, etc., on the march was 50 and 25 cents. Accounts rendered in Nov.
1834 show the ration in Cal. to have been 50 cents, and 25 cents to children
under 4 years; and the advance of live-stock to have been 4 cows, 2 yoke of
oxen, 10 horses, and 4 sheep to each man. Implements included 2 ploughs and
a variety of shovels, axes, hoes, crow-bars, etc. Id., ii. 274-80. See also
Hijar's instructions, to be mentioned later.
202 FIGUEROA'S RULE— RTJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
result was, that more than 250 persons were enlisted,
of whom 204 — 99 men, 55 women, and 50 children —
were entitled to rations and other aid after their ar-
rival in the promised land. ^
Hijar and Padres, like other colonization agents
in all times and countries, painted the attractions
of the country in bright colors. Then, as in much
later times, California was represented, in respect of
climate and other natural advantages, as an earthly
paradise. There is little evidence, however, that these
men made false promises, or went far beyond the
limits of honest enthusiasm. Some of the Californi-
ans speak of promises to distribute the mission wealth,
including the neophytes as servants; of promised op-
portunities to gain an easy fortune by employing na-
tive otter-hunters and pearl-seekers, or to live luxuri-
ously in idleness; and of other inducements equally
absurd and false; but the testimony of respectable
citizens who were members of the colony does not con-
firm these theories. Again, it has been the fashion
to ridicule the material of which the colony was com-
posed, 41 as having been altogether unfit for colonists.
The truth is, that the men were of a class far superior
to any that had before been sent as settlers to Cali-
fornia. Many were educated, some had property, and
all had a trade or profession. There was a notable
absence of the low and criminal classes of Mexicans;
and the subsequent record of those who remained in
the country was favorable. True, they came mostly
from the city, and the number of artisans was some-
what too predominant over that of agriculturists; yet
such farm laborers as could have been obtained from
41 The colony contained 19 farmers, 11 painters, 12 seamstresses, 8 carpen-
ters, 8 tailors, 5 shoemakers, 5 tinners, 5 silversmiths, 2 hatters, 2 physi-
cians, 2 barbers, 2 saddlers, 2 blacksmiths, 2 printers, 2 goldsmiths, and also
a mathematician, gardener, surgeon, machinist, ribbon-maker, rebozo-maker,
midwife, distiller, candy-maker, vermicelli-maker, navigator, founder, pork-
man, musician, vintager, apothecary, boatman, and carriage-maker, St. Pop.}
Miss and Colon., MS., ii. 275-6, besides G teachers and the officers. Forbes,
Hist. Cal., 142-3, says they were of every class except that which would
have been useful — artisans and idlers, but not a single farmer — 'goldsmiths
proceeding to a country where no gold or silver existed,' etc.
COMPANIA COSMOPOLITANS. 263
the Mexican provinces would not have done so well
by far, either for themselves or for California. 42
In connection with the colonization project, a com-
mercial company was formed, with the colony leaders
and other prominent men as partners, about which
little is known, except that it was called the Com-
pania Cosmopolitana, and that its object was to pur-
chase a vessel and engage in the exportation of Cal-
ifornian products. Of course it was only by some
such commercial scheme that the empresarios could
legitimately hope for profit beyond the salaries of a
few officials; and rt is very certain that a patriotic
desire to develop the resources of California was not
their sole motive. General Anaya is said to have
been president, and Juan Bandini vice-president, of
the company. Agents were sent to Acapulco to pur-
chase a vessel, securing the brig Natalia, to be paid for
in tallow. 43 A considerable sum was to be received
from the government for transportation; effects to
a certain amount could be smuggled on the first trip;
42 Among those who came with the colony and have been more or less well
known and prominent as citizens may be mentioned Ignacio Coronel and fam-
ily, Agustin Olvera, Jose Abrego, Victor Prudon, Francisco Guerrero, Jesus
No6, Mariano Bonilla, Zenon Fernandez, Auguste Janssens, Florencio Ser-
rano, Jose" M a Covarrubias, Jose do la Rosa, Gumesindo Flores, Francisco
Castillo Negrete, Fran. Ocampo, Nicanor Estrada, Juan N. Ayala, Simon
O'Donoju, and Chas. Baric.
43 The brig Natalia was sold on June 21, 1834, by Miguel Palacios at Aca-
pulco, to Bandini and other agents of the company for 7,200 arrobas of tallow-
payable in Cal. ; and Jos6 Noriega was sent in her as supercargo to represent
Palacios and receive the purchase value. He was to receive from the co. 650
per month and his expenses until his return to Acapulco. The vessel, as we
shall see, was wrecked at Monterey; and as late as 1841 Noriega, who lived
and afterwards died in Cal. , had received neither his salary nor any part of
the promised tallow, though there had been some legal proceedings in the
matter. Letters of Noriega to Guerra, in Doc. Hist. Cal., MS., iv. 1003-4,
1107-9. Bandini, Hist. Cal., MS., G4-6, says Anaya, afterwards president of
Mexico, was president and himself vice-president; and he states that besides
Hijar and Padrds, Judge Castillo Negrete and Sub-comisario Hcrrera were part-
ners, as were several respectable Mexican merchants. He says the vessel 'was
paid for, and that without any mission tallow' (?). Ministers Lombardo and
Garcia, Vice-president Farias, and other prominent officials are named as
partners by some Californians, perhaps without any authority. According to
Jos6 Abrego — letters in Vallrjo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 132; and in Garcia, Apunte,
MS., (appendix) — shares in the co. were $100 each; himself with Bandini
and Oliver (Olvera?) were sent to Acapulco to Txccivc the Natalia; and the
price was to be $14,000. Bandini says that the doings of the company were
published in the daily Fenix early in 1GS4.
264 FIGUEROA'S RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
it was not doubted that the Natalia could be made to
pay for herself; and it was hoped that such a monop-
oly of a growing California trade might be secured
as to justify the purchase of other vessels and enrich
the partners. So far as is apparent, the paid-up
capital of the Compahia Cosmopolitana was nothing.
It has been supposed that there were also con-
nected with the colony certain mysterious schemes of
a political nature, by which Gomez Farias hoped, in
case his administration should be overthrown, to find
in California a refuge for himself and his political
friends, a stronghold from which as a centre to work
for a restoration of his power in Mexico, or at the.last,
a rich province where he and his partisans might live
in affluence and security. There is some slight evi-
dence, as we shall see, that suspicions of this kind
were entertained in Mexico; but I deem them for
the most part unfounded; though the vice-president
may very likely have deemed it desirable to put even
so distant a territory as California under the control
of his political friends. 44
Vallcjo, Osio, Alvarado, and other Californians who
more or less fully reflect their views, denounce the
whole colonization plan of Hijar and Padres as a de-
liberately concocted plot to plunder the missions under
the protection of the highest political and military au-
thorities, who were themselves to share the spoils.
This is to go much further than is justified by the
evidence. The enterprise of Hijar and Padres was
on its face a legitimate one. Colonization had lono-
been regarded by intelligent men as a measure of ab-
solute necessity for California's welfare, and the im-
policy and impossibility of attempting to continue the
old monastico-missionary regime was equally appar-
ent. The objects ostensibly were praiseworthy; the
u Antonio Coronel, Cows de Cal., MS., 13, says he has never been able to
trace the rumors of political plots to any reliable source; though Florencio
Serrano, Apun'e.'-, MS., '24-3, thinks there were circumstances that indicated
an intention to declare Cal. independent of Mexico in certain contingencies.
MERITS OF THE SCHEME. 2G5
methods lawful, and the good fortune of Padres in se-
curing the aid of the government was not in itself an
evidence of corruption. As a matter of course, the
empresarios intended to make money; it was certainly
not wise to intrust to them such unlimited powers,
and it is quite likely that such powers w T ould have
been abused by them had they been able to carry out
their plans. It is perhaps well for their reputation
that they were not submitted to the temptation ; but
they are entitled to the benefit of the doubt; and in
view of subsequent developments charges of contem-
plated robbery do not altogether become the party
which largely controlled the final disposition of the
mission estates. 45
The rendezvous of the colonists at the capital w\as
at the abandoned convent of San Camilo, where a
grand ball was given just before the departure, in
April 1834. Among the lower classes of the Mexican
population — the leperos — there seems to have pre-
vailed an idea that California was a land inhabited
exclusively by savage Indians and Mexican convicts,
and that families from the capital were being in some
way deceived or exiled to that dangerous country
against their will. Janssens, Coronel, Abrego, Hijar,
and others agree that hostile demonstrations were made
by the mob, which attempted to prevent the departure
of the colonists. I think this action was one not likely
to have originated with the leperos, but that it must
have been prompted by persons, possibly the friars,
45 Alvarado, Hist. CaL, MS., ii. 223-30, is particularly violent in his de-
nunciation and ridicule, giving full credence to every rumored accusation
against Hijar and Padres of deception towards the colonists, of schemes of
plunder, .and of political plots. Osio, Hist. CaL, MS., 224-30; and Vallejo,
Hist. Cat., MS., ii. 309-10, 349-50, take substantially the same view. The
animus of these writers on the subject will be more apparent later. By writers
generally who have mentioned the colony the scheme has been more or les3
emphatically condemned, by most on account of the supposed worthless char-
acter of the colonists, by some on account of its connection with seculariza-
tion, and by others because of the personal and political aims of the promoters.
Naturally Juan Bandini, Hist. CaL, MS., 59-06, is an earnest defender of the
project. Valle, Lo Pasado de CaL, MS., 40-1; and Machado, Tlempos Pasa-
dos, MS., 31, state that Bandini was commonly regarded in southern Cali-
fornia as the author of the scheme.
2G6 FIGUEROA'S RULE— HIJAR AND PADRES COLONY.
who were interested in opposing the enterprise. A
company of mounted policemen was furnished by
the government to restrain the hostile element, and
the emigrants started in April 1834 on their long
journey — the men on horseback and the women and
children in large covered carts drawn by mules — and
proceeded the first day to Tecpantla. 46
The march to the sea, as remembered by members
of the expedition, was attended by no special hard-
ships or incidents requiring mention, the travellers
being hospitably received everywhere along the route,
at some towns even with public demonstrations of wel-
come and good-will. There was a delay of some
weeks at Guadalajara, and a still longer stay at Tepic.
It is said that on account of difficulties in obtaining
prompt payment of government funds, Hijar was
compelled to raise money by mortgaging his estates in
Jalisco; 47 but there is a notable lack in the archives
of all information respecting the finances of the colony.
On July 20th the company left Tepic for San Bias,
where two or three days later a part went on board
the Natalia, to avoid the mosquitoes, as Janssens says.
Nine days later the Morelos arrived and the rest of
the colonists embarked. There had been some deser-
tions, as well as a few enlistments, en route, and at
their first sight of the ocean still others lost heart
and turned back; but some 250 proceeded on the
voyage.
On the 1st of August, probably, the two vessels set
sail. The Cosmopolitan Company's brig Natalia had
on board Hijar, Bandini, and the naval officer Buena-
ventura Araujo, and her commander was Juan Gomez.
40 Bustamante, Vox tie la Patria, MS. , ix. 4-G, says they started, 400 in
number, April 14th, after committing many excesses. Hijar's instructions,
to be noticed later, were dated April 23d, which was probably very nearly the
date of departure.
41 The salaries of Hijar and Padres had been paid in Mexico down to the
time of departure. De/pt. SL Pap., Pen. Mil., MS., lxxix. G4, 77. July 20,
1833 (4?), an estimate of expenses for surveying instruments and travelling ex-
penses for two commissioners and six teachers, with their families, to amount
of $6,985, was approved and sent to sub-comisario of California. Dept. St. Pap.,
Ben. Com. and Treas., ii. 47-50.
ARRIVAL OF THE COLONISTS. 267
On the national corvette-of-war Morelos, Captain
Lucas Manso, were Padres, Judge Castillo Negrete,
the new asesor, Cosme Pefia, and Sub-comisario Her-
rera. A day or two out of port the vessels were
separated. The Natalia, the faster sailer of the two,
was struck by a squall off Cape San Lucas and had
a somewhat narrow escape. There was also much
sickness, resulting in several deaths. 48 The brig was
bound for Monterey, but in view of the sickness on
board the commander was induced by Bandini, and
by Hijar who was himself very sea-sick, to put in at
San Diego, where she anchored the 1st of September. 49
The new-comers were hospitably received at San
Diego, the officers and prominent individuals being the
guests of Bandini and his friends, while the rest were
distributed at various private houses or lodged in
tents and warehouses. In a few days a vessel in port
took about half the number up to San Pedro, whence
they went inland to San Gabriel. Most of the rest
soon went up to San Luis Bey. At these two missions
they remained for a month and more, and then — ex-
cept those who established themselves permanently in
different parts of the south — started toward the north-
ern frontier, passing in small detachments from mis-
sion to mission, and receiving nothing but kind treat-
ment from padres, administrators, settlers, and neo-
phytes. 50 The Natalia, after having perhaps been
48 Hijar, nephew of Jose" Maria, California en 1836, MS., p. 110-12, speaks
of troubles between Gomez and Araujo on the voyage, in connection with
which the latter at one time forcibly assumed the command. Janssens gives
some details of the gale.
49 Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 172-3; iv. 72-5. One record makes the num-
ber of passengers 129 and another 140. Martin Cabello came on the Natalia,
to be receptor of customs at S. Diego. Hijar speaks of a banquet at the
house of Bandini. Serrano says that for two days the families were sheltered
in the hide-houses on the beach and fed by the foreign owners of those houses.
Machado thinks that they were detained in quarantine for fear of the measles,
at a spot called Huisachc, for a time. Several died and were buried at the
mission. Janssens notes the kindness of the San Diegans, who would take
no pay from the colonists for entertainment.
50 Janssens is the only one who mentions the sea-trip to S. Pedro. Hijar
notes a long stay at Sta Barbara; a division at S. Luis Obispo, one party
being bound for Monterey and the other to Sonoma, and the fact that many
remained at the different missions, including himself and seven companions at
268 FIGUEROA'S RULE— Hf JAR AND PADRES COLONY.
aground for a time at San Diego, sailed north with
the effects of the colony. Lying at anchor in Monte-
rey, she broke her cables in a gale on the afternoon
of December 21st, and was driven on the beach about
two miles above the town, where she soon went to
pieces. Three men lost their lives. 51
There is a popular tradition that the Natalia was
the same vessel on which Napoleon had escaped from
Elba, in 1815. This statement is repeated by almost
every writer who has mentioned the colony. No
one presents any evidence in its support, but I am
not able to prove its inaccuracy. 52
The Morelos, with Padres and the rest of the colo-
nists, 120 in number, also had a narrow escape from
shipwreck in a gale off Point Concepcion, according
to the statement of Antonio Coronel; but she arrived
safely at Monterey on September 25th, and the new-
comers were as warmly welcomed at the capital as
S. Juan Bautista. Serrano says some of the colonists endured great hard-
ships on the way north, and that he and others determined to quit the colony
and look out for themselves. Hijar also tells us that the colonists made firm
friends of the neophytes as they passed along, by kind treatment and by
sympathy for their sufferings under missionary tyranny. Moreover, Araujo,
in a letter of Sept. 18th to Hi jar, the director, says: 'I have already
predisposed them [the neophytes] in our favor, explaining to them as well as I
could how philosophically we are armed,' etc. Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 154.
Pico, Acontecimientos, MS., 25, recalls the arrival at Purisima, whence he
helped convey them to S. Luis. Oct. 20th, Lieut-col. Gutierrez informs
Figueroa that some of the colonists had done good service in quelling Indian
disturbances. They were thanked in the name of the govt. St. Pap. , Miss, and
Colon., MS., ii. 281.
51 Record of day, hour, and place in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxix.
73-4. Janssens, Vida, MS., 41-4, gives a vivid description of the disaster
and the efforts of the Montereyans to rescue the officers and crew. In these
efforts a negro servant of Joaquin Gomez particularly distinguished himself,
saving several lives by his own exertions. A part of the cargo was washed
ashore, and much of it was stolen despite the efforts of a guard. The cook
and two sailors were drowned, and the mate Cuevas was badly hurt. Hijar,
Cal. en 1836, MS., 123-8, also gives some details. Many newspaper writers,
perhaps following Taylor in Pacific Monthly, xi. 643-9, have stated since
1860 that parts of the wreck were still visible, having furnished building-
material for over 30 years to the people of Monterey. One piece of news-
paper eloquence, in 1878, when the timbers were still visible, merits quota-
tion. ' The company, like the brig Natalia which brought them here, was
wrecked, and the ribs of its records, like those of the old brig, can only be
seen in the ebb of the tide of the present back to the beginning of the history
of Sonoma County. ' Sac Record- Union, June 25, 1878.
52 Hijar says that a French captain who visited the coast in 1846 declared
the identity, and I think it likely that the tradition has no better foundation.
RECEPTION OF THE MEXICANS. 2G9
their companions had been at San Diego. 53 They
also started northward before the end of the year,
their destination being San Francisco Solano, though
we have but little information respecting their exact
movements at this time. Of the reception accorded
to the directors, of the obstacles encountered by Hijar
and Padres, and of some rather interesting political
complications, I shall speak in the following chapter.
54
53 The date of arrival is given in Figueroa, Manifesto, 8. Sept. 26th,
Padres announced his arrival with 120 colonists, who intended to settle north
of S. Francisco Bay. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Com. and Treas., MS., iii. 43-4.
On Sept. 12th, a demand for grain had been sent to Sta Cruz in expectation
that the vessels would arrive in a few days. Sta Cruz lice, MS., 22. Coro-
nel, Cosas, MS., 9-10, says that the inhabitants vied with each other in their
kindness and hospitality to the strangers. Alvarado, Hist. CaL, MS., ii.
230-2, tells us that Padres, ' factotum, monopolizador general, y consejero
supremo,' was at first warmly welcomed by his old friends and partisans, of
whom the writer was one. He tells also an absurd story of a mortifying
incident that occurred. Two ladies came off in the boat with Padres, expect-
ing to see nobody in Cal. except soldiers, friars, convicts closely guarded, and
Indians ready to become their servants. As they drew near the shore, they
beheld two beautiful and well-clad ladies of Monterey in the crowd awaiting
them, and said, ' Sr Padres, how is it possible that these girls can be our ser-
vants? We look as much like servants as they.' Padres bit his lip, and the
ladies insisted on returning to the ship to ' dress up ' before landing. Nov. 1st,
a ball was given, partly in honor of the colonists, and partly of the diputacion.
Earliest Printing in Cal. Dec. 13th the Morelos was still in port. Manso
in command; Lieutenants Valle, Anaya, and Azcona; 2 'aspirantes,' 3 mates,
2 mechanics, 7 gunners, and 7 boys. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Alii., MS., lxxix.
85.
54 My statements of Calif ornians on the Hijar and Padres colony, in addi-
tion to documentary authorities, are the following, the same being cited on
particular phases of the subject only for special reasons: Janssens, Vida, MS.,
7-59; Coronet, Cosas, MS., 1-17; Hijar, Cal. en 1836, MS., 2-11, 59-62, 108-
12; Serrano, Apuntes, MS., 1-12, 24-7; Abreqo, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi.
132, and in Garcia, Apunte, append., MS.; Vega, Vida, MS., 8-17; Bandini,
Hist., MS., 59-66, 76. The preceding were all written by men who came
with the colony; the following by men who with a few exceptions had per-
sonal knowledge of the subject: Osio, Hist. Cal, MS., 225-40; Alvarado,
Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 223-45; iii. 1-5, 27-33; Vallejo, Hist. Cal, MS., ii. 222-3,
272-4, 306, 309-10, 349-51; Vallejo, Reminis., MS., 43-56; Fernandez, Cosas,
MS., 71-86; Pinto, Apunt., MS., 3-6; Pico, Acont., MS., 25-6; Machado,
Tiempos Pasados, MS., 30-1; Galindo, Apuntes, MS., 28-31; Botello, Anales,
MS., 15-17, 176; Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 63-8; Gomez, Lo que Sabe, MS.,
375-9; Larios, Convulsiones, MS., 13-14; Avila, Notas, MS., 10-11; Pico,
Hist. Cal, MS., 49-55; Espinosa, Apuntes, MS., 1-2; Torre, Remin., MS., 48;
Amador, Mem., MS., 138-42; Gonzalez, Revol, MS., 4-6; Vcdle, Lo Pasctdo,
MS., 11-14; Castro, Bel, MS., 31-5; Arce, Mem., MS., 3-5: Marsh's Letter,
MS., 5-6; Brown's Statement, MS., 9-10; Green's Life and Adven., MS., 29.
The printed mentions of the subject are found in Figueroa, Manifesto;
Forbes, Hist, 142-5; Wilkes' Narr., v. 174; Petit- Thouars, Voy., ii. 89; Mo-
fras, Explor., i. 295-6; San Miguel, La Repub. Mex., Parte Ecles., 18-21;
Rosa, Ensayo, 30-1; Randolph's Oration; Payno in Revista Cientifea, i. 83;
Robinson's Life in Cal, 161-7; Tuthill's Hist. Cal, 136-9; Ferry, California,
18-19; Mora, Otras Sueltas, i. eclviii.-ix.
CHAPTER X.
FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
1834-1835.
Santa Anna Orders Figueroa not to Give up the Command to Hijar—
Quick Time from Mexico — Hijar Demands the Mission Property —
His Instructions — Action of the Diputacion — Lost Prestige op
Padres — Bando — Controversy — Bribery — Submission of the Direct-
ors — Aid to the Colonists— At Solano — New Quarrel — Rumored
Plots — Revolt of Apalategui and Torres — Pronunciamiento of the
Sonorans — Surrender — Legal Proceedings — Figueroa's Orders-
Seizure of Arms at Sonoma — Arrest of Verduzco and Lara — Exile
of Hijar and Padres— Figueroa's Manifiesto — Sessions of the
Diputacion— Carrillo in Congress— Los Angeles Made Capital —
Foundation of Sonoma — Death of Figueroa — Life and Character-
Castro Gefe Politico — Gutierrez Comandante General — Estu-
dillo's Claims.
Thus far all had gone well with the empresarios,
but obstacles were now encountered that were destined
to prove insurmountable. The first and most serious
had its origin in Mexico. On the 25th of July, 1834,
some six days before the colony sailed, President
Santa Anna, having taken the reins of government
into his own hands in place of Vice-president Gomez
Farias, issued an order to Figueroa not to give up the
office of gefe politico to Hijar on his arrival in Cali-
fornia, as he had been ordered, and had promised to
do. 1 We have no official information respecting the
motive that prompted this countermand; but there
can be no doubt that Santa Anna regarded as excess-
1 Figueroa, Manifiesto, 7-8. Order transcribed to com. of S. Francisco on
Oct. 21st Vallejo, Doc., MS., ii. 314. The order is: In answer to yours of
May 18th, 'hadispuestoS. E. conteste a V. S. que no entregue el citado mando
y continue desempeuando la Gefatura.' Lombardo.
(270)
COUNTERMAND FROM MEXICO. 271
ive the powers conceded to the empresarios, and that
he was actuated by a suspicion, not so well founded
but perhaps even more potent than the former motive,
that political and revolutionary plans in the interest
of Gomez Farias were involved in the scheme. There
was no lack of persons in Mexico whose policy it was
to foment this suspicion, without regard to its accu-
racy. Abrego and Osio affirm that the directors sailed
from San Bias in defiance of orders from Mexico to
delay the departure of the colony; but I believe this
to be an error. 2
The countermand of July 25th was sent to Califor-
nia in all haste overland by a special courier, who
placed it in Figueroa's hands near Monterey the 11th
of September, and with it another despatch from
Hijar at San Diego, announcing his arrival at that
port on the 1st. The trip was much the quickest on
record between the national and territorial capitals,
and the fame of that courier who braved the terrors
of Indians, deserts, and starvation, coming alone by
way of the Colorado, has never ceased to be talked of
in Californian families. 3 Governor Figueroa had re-
2 Osio, Hist. CaL, MS., 229-30; Abrego, Cartas, MS. Bandini, Hist. Cal,
MS., 61-4, denounces it as a strange and arbitrary act to annul the appoint-
ment without giving leasons, and thus to create confusion in the important
matter of colonization. Vallejo (J. J.), Remhi., MS., 46-8, understands that
Santa Anna's order was prompted by the friars. After the order was issued, on
Sept. 30th, .the com. gen. of Jalisco sent to Mexico the statement of the sur-
veyor Lobato left at Tepic, that Padre's had repeatedly threatened in case of
any change in Mexico to make Cal. independent or annex it to the U. S.
Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., x. 4-5.
3 Figueroa, Manifiesto, 7-8, mentions the receipt of the despatches on Sept.
11th. Most state that the time made was 40 instead of 48 days. Osio says
the man was detained by the Indians at the Colorado, who threatened to kill
him, but at last built him a balsa to cross the river in exchange for his horse,
equipments, and most of his clothing. He nearly perished on the way to
S. Luis Key, being 3 days without water. His reward was $3,000. Serrano
relates that Lieut Araujo by an ambush captured the courier near S. Gabriel,
and took him to Hijar, who was urged to hurry to Monterey and secure hia
office; but he refused to resort to such expedients, and released the captive.
Amador says the man was Rafael Amador, his cousin. Torre states that the
courier arrived about 11 r. m. at Monterey, and was welcomed by the firing
of cannon. Espinosa was one of the escort furnished by Lieut Valle to guard
the man northward from Monterey to meet Figueroa. He describes his
dress, notes the feasts given in his honor, and says Figueroa gave him 4 mules
on his departure. Valle also mentions having furnished the escort for the
trip towards Sta Hosa. Vega was .told the man had at first mistaken his des-
272 FIGUESOA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
ceivecl no official notice respecting the colonists, but he
had deemed it best to make preparations for their ar-
rival, and with that object in view had visited the Santa
Rosa Valley, as already related, and there selected a
site for the new town. It was on his return, one
day's journey before reaching the capital, that he
received the countermand from Mexico. He sent to
Santa Cruz and other places for such supplies as could
be furnished, and awaited the arrival of the colonists.
It may be here stated that secularization had been
already begun in accordance with the law of 1833 and
regulations of 1834; and several of the missions were
in charge of administrators.
The Morelos entered the harbor on September 25th,
and the immigrants, as we have seen, were made as
comfortable as possible. Padres at first claimed the
position of comandante general, but of course in vain,
since his claim was conditional on Figueroa's illness; 4
then he presented his appointment as sub-director of
colonization and officially demanded aid for his colo-
nists. The situation was embarrassing. In the ab-
sence of instructions to the contrary from the war
department, Padres as ayudante inspector was Figue-
roa's subordinate officer, notwithstanding his appoint-
ment of sub-director from the minister of relations;
and there was no legal authority for expending public
funds for the support of the colony. So confident had
been the directors in the success of their plan in
every detail, that they had made no provision for the
slightest contretemps. There was, however, as yet no
controversy.
The 14th of October Hijar arrived by land from
San Diego, and after the customary courtesies of re-
tination and gone to Monterey in N. Leon. Gonzalez recalls the meeting of
the courier and Figueroa at the writer's rancho of Lenadero. Galindo thinks
the man was to receive $1 per hour, if successful. Hijar affirms that the man
was sick and had to stop at S. Juan Bautista, where the writer was, another
man being sent on in his place. J. J. Vallejo calls him Hidalgo. I may per-
haps safely suggest that some of the items cited are not quite accurate.
*<St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 2S5-6, 290-1. An order of Dec. 7th
(1833 ?) is alluded to as countermanding that of July 12th.
hIjar AND FIGUEROA. 273
ception, was shown by Figueroa the order forbidding
a transfer of the civil authority. Though bitterly
disappointed, Hijar could make no objection, and fell
back on his commission as director of colonization,
which Figueroa consented to recognize. At an inter-
view on the 15th Hijar presented the instructions
addressed to him in his double capacity as gefe politico
and director, instructions to which Figueroa assented,
and which I append in a note. 5 Next morning the
latter received a demand from the director to be put in
possession of the mission property according to article
1 of the instructions, the governor bein^ asked to issue
the necessary orders to administrators and coman-
dantes. Figueroa, rather strangely as it would seem,
promised compliance, but proposed to consult the
diputacion. The reply on the 17th was simply a plea
for haste on account of disorders at the missions, the
approach of planting-time, the neglect of the friars,
the sufferings of the neophytes, and the needs of the
colony. The comandante general was to be held re-
sponsible for damages caused by delay. Accordingly
the diputacion was convened the same day, and before
that body was laid a full statement. Figueroa had,
he said, no desire to retain the gefatura. He would
5 Hijar, Instrucciones d que Dcberd Arreglar su Conducta D. Jose Maria
Hijar, Gefe Politico cle la alta California y Director de Colonization de esta y de la
baja, in Figueroa, Manifesto, 11-14; St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 270-3;
Jones' Report, no. 12. Art. 1. He will begin by occupying all the property
belonging to the missions; the military comandante to furnish all necessary
aid required. 2. For a year from arrival each colonist is to receive 50 cents
per day, or 25 cents if under 4 years of age. 3. Travelling expenses to be
paid by govt, and the colonists to receive the monturas bought for their trans-
portation. 4. Selection of favorable sites for settlements. 5. The frontiers
to be settled as soon as possible. G. Plan of the new towns. 7. Native set-
tlers to be mixed with the Mexicans, but no town to be inhabited exclusively
by Indians. 8. House lots. 9-10. Farming lands to be granted in full own-
ership. 11. The movable property of the missions having been distributed
(according to law of secularization ?) one half of what is left is to be sold to
the best advantage. 12. Not over 200 head of stock of the same kind to be
sold to one family. 13. The remaining half of movable property to be kept
on govt account and to be devoted to expenses of worship, support of mis-
sionaries, education, and purchase of implements for the colonists. 14. The
gefe pol. and director to report in detail at first and annually on the disposi-
tion and condition of the property after the distribution as above. 15. lie is
also to report at least once a year on the condition and needs of the colonists.
Dated April 23, 1834, and signed Lombardo.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 18
274 FIGUERQA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ- -THE COLONY.
gladly give it up to the senior vocal, or to any person
who might legally receive it. He had no desire to
oppose the colonization project, but had some doubt
whether it was as director or as gefe politico • that
Hijar was to receive the mission property, and he
desired advice as to the proper course for him to pur-
sue. Of course this humble tone was all assumed, yet
it was rather neatly done. 6
Thus the tide of fortune for Padres and his associate
had begun to ebb. Instead of finding themselves in-
vested with the civil and military authority, they were
simply directors of colonization, and their powers even
in that capacity were left to the tender mercies of the
diputacion. The members of that body, it is true, had
been a few years earlier admirers and partisans of
Padres, or at least were largely under the influence of
those partisans, such as Bandini, Vallejo, and Osio;
but though we may be sure the ayudante inspector
exerted all his eloquence and influence to retain the
favor of his old friends, his power over them seems to
have been lost. Vallejo and Alvarado admit candidly
that the chief reason for this defection was the fact that
Padres had brought with him twenty-one Mexicans
to become administrators of the missions; whereas,
under the old plans, the Californians were to have
those places. I have no doubt this was, to a certain
extent, the true state of the case, though I do not
suppose that all the places had been promised to
Mexicans. Figueroa's mission policy was substan-
tially identical with that of Echeandia and Padres in
the past, to which the Californians had committed
themselves. He had actually made a beginning of
secularization; all was going well, and the Californians
were filling the desirable places. Why should they
favor a change in favor of strangers?
Whatever their motives — and they were not alto-
gether selfish — the vocales had the soundest of legal
6 Figueroa, Manifesto, 14-22; St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 209-10.
ACTION OF THE DIP CJTACION". 275
reasons for refusing to accede to Hijar's demands. To
suppose that the government in depriving him of the
office of gefe politico had intended to leave intact all
the powers given to him in his double capacity was an
absurdity; nor was it credible that the whole matter
of secularization and disposition of mission property
was to be intrusted to a mere director of colonization,
deemed unfit for the civil rule. Doubtless the admin-
istration in its haste had been led into carelessness
in not specifying what powers if any were to be left
to Director Hijar. The diputacion met on the 17th
of October, and listened to a speech from Figueroa, re-
ceiving documents illustrating the subject-matter. The
matter was referred to the committee on government.
It was decided to reserve discussion for secret sessions,
and next day Hijar was called upon to show his
instructions. At the secret session of the 21st the
committee, consisting of Jose Antonio Carrillo, Pio
Pico, and Joaquin Ortega, rendered its report, which
was discussed and approved article by article without
opposition. On the same day it was published by
Figueroa in a ponderous bando. 7
In a preamble to their report, Carrillo and his asso-
ciates made an able and even eloquent presentment of
the case. Considerable attention was paid to national as-
pects, for it seems that an effort had been made to show
that Santa Anna's revocation of Hijar's commission
was in some way a threat to federal institutions, and a
warning was uttered against the folly of taking part
in the strife that was agitating the republic, so long
as the rights of California were not attacked, and
especially so long as the territory was under the
guidance of so wise and popular a ruler as Figueroa.
^Legis. Rec, MS., ii. 190-6, 29-34; Figueroa, Manifiesto, 22-33. Of the
document as finally published I have an original — Figueroa, Bando en que
publica la Resolucioii de la Diputacion Territorial contra las Pretcmioncs de Don
Jos6 Maria Hijar, Director de Colonizacion, 21 de Oct. de 1834, MS. , sheet
12x50 inches. Oct. 19th, Figueroa demands from H. his instructions for tho
dip. They were sent the same day. St. Pap., Colon, and Miss., MS., ii. 211.
Oct. 21st-22d, F. sends to the alcalde of Los Angeles his address to the dip.,
and the action of that body. Dept. St. Pap., Aug., MS., xi. 23-C.
27G FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
Orders of the government were for the most part
clear, and should be obeyed. The innocent colonists
were, however, in no way to blame for the failure of
the directors to provide for their welfare, nor for the
carelessness of the government in issuing indefinite
orders ; and for them the territorial authorities should
provide in every possible way. The Indians, more-
over, ought not to be despoiled of their property — -
their only reward for a century of slavery — as would
be the case if Hijar's original instructions were car-
ried out; and on this point the government should be
fully informed. The decision of the committee, ap-
proved by the diputacion, and published in the gov-
ernor's bando, was in substance as in the appended
note. 8 Figueroa was to remain gefe politico; Hijar
was to be recognized as director of the colony, but
must not interfere with the missions, and all possible
aid was to be afforded to the colonists. The course
decided upon was an eminently just and proper one.
Hijar addressed to Figueroa, October 23d, a com-
munication, in which he attempted to refute succes-
sively all the positions assumed by the diputacion.
This letter, with Fioaieroa's arguments against each
point interpolated between its disjointed paragraphs,
fills fifty-four pages of print. 9 Both disputants dis-
8 1. The order of July 25th must be obeyed, and Figueroa will continue
to act as gefe politico. 2. Hijar may fulfil his special commission of director
of colonization, subject to the territorial government and the regulations
which may be adopted by the diputacion. 3. H. is to have nothing to do
with secularization, and is not to receive the mission property. 4. Until the
sup. govt may decide, the secularization regulations of the dip. will be carried
out, and the Indians will be put in possession of their property. 5. (a) The
gov. will cause to be given to the colonists on arrival the tools and other aid
called for in the instructions, the same to be taken pro rata from the different
missions; (b) he will also furnish necessary food on account of the allowance
to each person; (c) the director will be subject to the gefe, and will report to
him, giving estimates of expenses, etc.; (d) the mission lands belong to the
Indians, and no colony shall be established on them. 0. The gefe will retain
H. 's instructions, giving him a certified copy if desired. 7. (a) This document
is to be reported to the sup. govt, which (b) is to be asked to revoke the
instructions so far as they despoil the Indians of their property; to approve .
the regl. of the dip. ; and (c) to separate the political and military command.
8. This action of the dip. shall be circulated for the information of the
public.
9 Figueroa, Mani/iesto, 35-89.
FAILURE OF THE COLONY. 277
played ability in their written arguments, besides
using some severe language; but they went, much
further than was necessary or than I have space to
follow them, beyond the real question at issue into
the rights of the Indians, the equities of seculariza-
tion, and the constitutional powers of national and ter-
ritorial authorities. A private conference of leading
men was held the 25th, at which Hijar's letter was
read, and arguments in support of Figueroa' s position
were made by the lawyers Luis del Castillo Negrete
and Rafael Gomez. Another conference was to be
held the next day; but meanwhile Hijar invited
Figueroa to breakfast, and tried to bribe him — so says
the governor — to deliver the mission property, offer-
ing to enrich him, not only with that very property,
but with credit and influence in Mexico and $20,000
or more from Jalisco. 10 Figueroa does not appear to
have deemed that his honor required anything more
than a refusal of the offer; and after a long argument,
offered not to oppose, if the diputacion would consent,
the delivery of the mission property, on condition
that no part of it should be disposed of until a deci-
sion could be obtained from Mexico. This proposition
was not accepted at the conference that followed, at
which Hijar and Padres are said to have finally given
up the contest, admitted the justice of all that the dipu-
tacion had done, and announced their purpose to take
the colony to Baja California. All protested against
this project as ruinous to the colonists, and begged
the directors to remain, which they finally consented
to do, some slight modifications in the resolutions of
the 21st being agreed upon, which modifications, with
Hijar's letter of the 23d, were submitted by Figueroa
to the diputacion on the 29th.
The diputacion on November 3d, while administer-
ing to Hijar a severe reprimand for his ''jumble of er-
roneous ideas, unfounded imputations, and gratuitous
10 Figueroa, Manifiesto, 92.
27S FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
criminations," agreed to the changes 'proposed, and
required of the director a written acquiescence ; which
action was communicated to him on the 4th by Figu-
eroa. 11 Hijar replied two days later with a protest
and more arguments instead of the desired agreement;
but he announced his purpose, for the welfare of the
colonists and the good name of Mexico, to disregard
for the present his own wrongs of outraged honor,
and remain with the colony wherever it might be
sent, earning his living with a spade if necessary.
Accordingly preparations were made for the settle-
ment of the colonists on the northern frontier. Pa-
dres was call upon to decide whether he would assume
the duties of ayudante inspector or of sub-director;
and he replied bj^ resigning the former position. 12
Fifjueroa addressed to the minister of relations on the
9th two communications in defence of the policy that
had been pursued with the directors. On the 20th,
and again on December 8th, he wrote to the secretary
of war, explaining his course with Padres, who it seems
after resigning his military position once had tried
unsuccessfully to obtain command of the northern
frontier. He declared that Padres was already plot-
ting mischief, and that the territory would never be safe
until that officer should be removed. He also offered
his own resignation of the comandancia general. 13
I have already noticed the arrival of the colony in
two divisions at San Diego and Monterey in Septem-
ber 1834, the stay of the southern division for a month
u Flgueroa, Manifesto, 93-106; Leg. Bee, MS., ii. 205-7. The changes
were as follows: (1) In art. 2, the words 'laws and regulations on the sub-
ject' were to be substituted for 'regulations which may be adopted by the
dip.' (2) Hijar was to have his original instructions returned. (3) If
] 1 1 jar would agree in writing to the resolutions as amended, he was to receive
his full salary of $4,000. (4) The gefe politico was authorized to settle any
further questions of detail without reference to the dip. Nov. 4th, F. in-
forms the min. of rel. that H. is to remain as director, subject to the civil
government, and to receive $4,000; but after the colonists are once located
under municipal govt, it is thought no director will be needed, and the salary
may be saved. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 213. H.'s reply of Nov. Gth
ia also in Id., ii. 213-17.
12 Nov. 8th, 9th, St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 270, 279, 287-8.
13 St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 2S3-92; Figueroa, Man'ijicslo, 48-55.
ON THE NORTHERN FRONTIER. 279
or more at San Luis Rey and San Gabriel, and their
gradual progress northward. Immediately after the
agreement with Hijar, particularly on November 12th,
orders were issued for a pro rata furnishing by the
missions of necessary supplies. There are also some
fragmentary items of record respecting transportation
in November and December; 14 but all that can be
definitely learned is that during the winter a majority
of the whole company, the rest being scattered through-
out the territory, were gradually brought together at
San Francisco Solano, which mission was already in
charge of Mariano G. Vallejo as comisionado for sec-
ularization. Padres was with them, and Hijar made
some visits to Solano. The intention was to found a
settlement on the northern frontier, perhaps at Santa
Rosa, though it does not clearly appear that any of
the colony actually went there, or indeed that any
had lands assigned them at San Francisco Solano.
Early in March 1835 a new correspondence took
place between Hijar and Figueroa. Supplies had
come in slowly, barely in quantities sufficient to keep
the colonists alive. Hijar now desired to make a be-
ginning of the new town, and called on the governor
to state definitely whether he could furnish the re-
quired aid. Figueroa admitted that he could not fur-
nish all that was required by the instructions, though
he would do, as he had done, all that was in his power.
14 Nov. 5, 1834, Ramirez notifies receptor at S. Francisco that the brig
Trammare will bring the colonists' luggage north and may land it on Angel
Island. Pinto, Doc, MS., i. 125-6. Nov. 8th-9th, Hijar's estimates of live-
stock, tools, supplies, etc., for the colony, amounting to $45,000 for a year.
St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 274-8, 280. Nov. 12th, miscellaneous
orders to missions with some details of supplies to be furnished. Dept. St. Pap. ,
MS., iii. 188; St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 279-82; Valljo, Doc, MS.,
325-8. Dec. 19th, the gov. says to the comisionado of S. F. that if the colo-
nists have not yet gone to the other side, they are to be detained until the rains
are over. St. Pap., Miss., MS., ix. 61. Coronel speaks of the journey in ox-
carts or on horseback, of crossing the strait of Carquines in boats managed
by S. Jos6 neophytes, and of being lodged in such of the mission buildings
as were not occupied by Vallejo and his troops. Cosas de Cal., MS., 12.
Most Californian writers give no information beyond the bare fact that most
of the colonists went to Sonoma. Some state that there was now considera-
ble ill feeling between them and the native inhabitants, arising largely from
the troubles of the leaders.
2S0 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
He advised, however, that on account of scanty means
and the general unfitness of the men for frontier set-
tlers, the idea of a new town be abandoned, and the
colonists be allowed to select, each for himself, their
own residence and employment. Hijar protested
against this plan, as opposed to the views of the Mex-
ican government; but Figueroa insisted, and issued
the corresponding orders. The colony was thus dis-
organized, but there are records of aid furnished to
families at different points throughout 1835. There is
no more to be said of the colonists as a body. Most
of them remained in the country to constitute a very
respectable element of the population. 15
In a defence of his own course, written later, Fi-
gueroa, presenting the documents in the case chrono-
logically, interspersed among them his own comments.
From his remarks it would appear that almost from
the day of arrival, in September 1834, to the out-
break in March 1835, soon to be noticed, certain
members of the colony under the leadership of Padres
were engaged in plots to secure the territorial govern-
ment by force, Hijar being meanwhile an indifferent
spectator, if not an active participant in these in-
trigues. 16 I suspect that Figueroa's fears at the time
were to a considerable extent unfounded, and that his
subsequent presentment of them was much exagger-
ated in detail to suit his own purposes. The colonists
15 Correspondence of Hijar and Figueroa, March 1-4, 1835, in Firjueroa,
Manifiesto, 117-28; Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 8-9. Orders and correspondence
of March 5th to April, on transfer of the families from Solano to the homes
they might select, and on supplies furnished. Vallcjo, Doc, MS., hi. 14-1G;
xxiii. 5; St. Pap., Miss., MS., vii. 72-4; Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., v. 377-9.
Account by Padres April 12th of amounts paid to colonists, aggregating
$2,C04. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., v. 371-2; Id.,Cust.-II, MS., vii. GG2-4.
Fragmentary records of supplies furnished to families, June to August. Dept.
St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxx. 11; lxxxi. 46; Id., Ben., v. 372-5; Id., Ben.
Com. and Treas., iv. 9; St. Pap., Bliss., MS., vi. 15; Vcdlejo, Doc, MS., xxiii.
12.
16 Figueroa, Manifiesto, passim. In Oct., before the action of the dip.,
they are said to have worked hard to alarm the public with charges of cen-
tralism and oppression, p. 22-3. After that action of Oct. 21st, some in their
anger talked loudly and recklessly of their original plans, p. 33-5. About
REVOLT AT LOS ANGELES. 2S1
were of course bitterly disappointed at the failure of
the directors to keep their promises, and many of them
were disposed to throw the blame on Figueroa and
the Californians. It is the nature of disappointed
Mexicans to conspire; there were some reckless fel-
lows like Araujo who were perfectly willing to make
trouble; and it is not likely that Padres, or even Hi-
jar perhaps, would have regretted or opposed any
revolutionary movement offering chances of success.
But such chances, against a popular ruler, the leading
Californians, and the friars, were known to be but
slight. Therefore I doubt that Hijar and Padres
made any definite plans to overthrow the territorial
government, and especially that Figueroa, as he claims,
was acquainted from the first with the details of such
plots.
There was, however, an attempted revolt at Los
Angeles March 7, 1835. The night before, about
fifty Sonorans, who had lately come to California, and
the time of settlement with Hijar, or in Nov., Araujo instigated two attacks
of the Cahuilla Indians on the S. Bernardino ranclio. Verduzco at the same
time tried to induce the neophytes of S. Luis Rey to revolt against the escolta;
but his plot was discovered and frustrated. Lara on his way north tried to
enlist the neophytes of different missions in support of his plots, as was proven
by his diary, which fell into Figueroa's hands, p. 10G-7. Padres concealed
the 200 rifles and ammunition he had brought, advised the colonists to have
nothing to do with Figueroa, and daily harangued them at Sonoma on their
wrongs at the gefe's hands, p. 108-114 (also F.'s reports to Mex. on Padres
already cited). In February two persons from S. Antonio reported a plot;
and several members of the colony revealed the revolutionary plans. Hijar
meanwhile was intimate with the conspirators, and must have known their
schemes, p. 110-11. The desire in March to unite the colony was for the
purpose of revolution; and to defeat this movement was F.'s chief reason for
allowing it to be scattered, p. 1 1G-17. When the news came of trouble in the
south, F. was investigating the matter at Sta Clara and S. Juan, p. 1 128-0.
Oct. 15, 1834, Capt. Portilla from S. Luis Key. Has discovered that Verduzco
sought to surprise the guard and seize the arms. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii.
174--5. Oct. 21st-22d, F. to Gutierrez and to 8 comisionados to investigate the
disturbances, arrest the leaders, and assure the Ind. that the charges of the
revolutionists were false. Id., iii. 175-6. Araujo, on Sept. 18th, says, 'I have
already predisposed the neophytes in our favor,' this being perhaps the pur-
port of the 'diary' referred to by F. Guerra, Doc, MS., vi. 154. Oct. 22d,
F. warns alcalde of Angeles to look out for revolutionary movements. Dept.
St. Pap., MS., iii. 177; Id., Aug., xi. 28. Oct. 28th, Carrillo at Sta Bar-
bara has taken steps to prevent Araujo from seducing the neophytes. St. Pap.,
Hiss., MS., ix. 29. Jan. 27, 1835, president has heard of Araujo's plots and
orders him to be sent out of the country. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., xi. 1.
282 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
who were living in the town or the adjoining ranchos,
assembled at Los Nietos, and at daybreak entered Los
Angeles armed with lances and muskets, under the
leadership of Juan Gallardo, a cobbler, and Felipe
Castillo, a cigar-maker. They seem to have seized
certain weapons at the houses of foreign residents as
they came in. Marching to the town hall, and using
force to obtain the keys, they took a cannon and a
quantity of ammunition stored there temporarily, or
in a private house near by, in anticipation of an Indian
campaign. Without committing further acts of vio-
lence, the Sonorans stationed themselves near the
entrance of the hall, while the leaders took steps to
summon the alcalde. That official, Francisco J. Alva-
rado, at once convened the members of the ayunta-
miento by tap of the drum, and the citizens generally
left their beds to attend the meeting. Gallardo then
submitted, with a respectful letter for the approval of
the illustrious corporation, a plan which explained the
presence of himself and followers, and by which it was
proposed to restore California to the splendid prosper-
ity of former times by simply removing Figueroa
from the command. 17
17 Pronunciamiento de Apaldtegui en Los Angeles, contra Don Jos6 Figueroa,
7 de Marzo de 1835, in Figueroa, Manifesto, 131-3; Los Angeles, Arch., MS.,
iv. 155-9; Bandini, Doc. Hist. Col., MS., 39. 'A multitude of citizens hav-
ing assembled to devise means to save California from the evils which she
has suffered and is suffering under the administration of Gen. D. Jose Figueroa,
and considering — 1. That this chief has not complied with divers orders given
him by the sup. govt of the Union to improve the condition of the inhabit-
ants of this country; that, abusing their docility, he has exceeded the powers
granted him by the laws, by unduly assuming the political and military com-
mands against the federal system and against express laws which forbid this
union of the commands; that with the law of secularization he has made a
scandalous monopoly, reducing the mission products to an exclusive commerce,
and treacherously inducing the dip. to regulate a general law according to his
whim; that, in infringement of the treasury regulations, he disposes of the
soldiers' pay at his own will without the knowledge of the chief of revenue,
and without the formalities prescribed by law; 2. That the dip. has no
power to regulate or make additions to a general law, as it has done in the
case of that on the secularization; 3. That as the missions are advancing
with giant strides to total ruin, through the measures dictated for the shut-
ting-out of the natives and the distribution of their property; and, 4. That
some commissioners, cither by gross ignorance in the management of this claoS
of business or by their own malicious conduct, have proposed to advance
their private wealth by ruining that of the missions, with notable injury to
the natives who have acquired that property by their personal toil — have re-
APALATEGUI'S REVOLT. 283
The ayuntamiento in session with the citizens dis-
cussed the propositions of the plan, referred them to
a committee, and finally decided by a plurality of votes
that it had no authority to act in such a matter, and
that Gallardo must apply elsewhere for support — in
fact, according to one record the ayuntamiento went
so far as to disapprove the plan, though having no army
with which to enforce its disapproval. A committee
consisting of Guirado, Osio, and Ossa was sent to com-
municate the decision and to request the pronunciados
to remove their force across the river. This they de-
clined to do, but promised to preserve the peace, and
held their position until about four o'clock in the af-
ternoon. Pio Pico and Antonio M. Osio, both of whom
were in town on this eventful day, assert that the
rebels were waiting for money that had been promised
but was not forthcoming. 13 However this may have
been, at about the hour mentioned Gallardo and Cas-
tillo respectfully informed the ayuntamiento that as
solved as follows: Art. 1. Gen. Jose" Figueroa is declared unworthy of public
confidence; and therefore the first alcalde of the capital will take charge
provisionally of the political power; and Capt. Pablo de la Portilla of the
military command as the ranking officer in accordance with army regulations.
Art. 2. The resolutions of the dip. on regulations for the administration of
missions are declared null and void. Art. 3. The very rev. missionary
fathers will take exclusive charge of the temporalities of their respective
missions as they have done until now, and the comisionados will deliver the
documents relating to their administration to the friars, who will make the
proper observations. Art. 4. By the preceding article the powers of the director
of colonization to act according to his instructions from the sup. govt are not
interfered with. Art. 5. This plan is in every respect subject to the approval
of the gen. govt. Art. 0. The forces that have pronounced will not lay down
their arms until they see the preceding articles realized, and they constitute
themselves protectors of an upright administration of justice and of the re-
spective authorities.' It nowhere appears who were the signers of the plan,
if any, in addition to Gallardo and Castillo. All the copies close with the
note ' here the signatures.' Figueroa devotes p. 134-40 of his Manifesto to a
series of arguments in reply to the successive articles of the plan, exhibiting
very much more of skill and satire and anger than the subject deserved.
18 Osio, Hist. Cal., MS., 230-8; Pico, Hist. Cal., MS., 50-5. Robinson,
Life in Cal., 104-7, gives a full narrative with a translation of the pronuncia-
miento. Other accounts in Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., iii. 1-5; Fernandez,
Cosas de Cal., MS., 80-2; Vallejo, Remin., MS., 55-0; Botello, Anales, MS.,
15-10; Avila, Notas, MS., 10-11; Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., GO; Galindo, Apun-
tes, MS., 30; TuthilVs Hist. Cal, 138-9. Nearly all represent this as a
revolt in the interests of the colony or its directors. In Los Angeles, Hist., 14,
it is spoken of as a revolt of Torres and Apalatey to place Ijar at the head of
affairs.
284 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
the plan had not been approved by that body, after the
exercise of what was doubtless better judgment than
they themselves had brought to bear on it, they had
decided to give up the instigators of the movement,
and to throw themselves, if any wrong had been un-
wittingly done, on the indulgence of the legal authori-
ties. Accord ingly they gave up two men, and dis-
banded their force.
The two men given up, locked in jail, and sent next
day to Lieutenant-colonel Gutierrez at San Gabriel for
safe keeping, were Antonio Apalategui, a Spanish es-
cribiente, or clerk, and Francisco Torres, a Mexican
doctor, or apothecary, who had come with the colony,
and who lately had left Monterey with despatches from
Hijar to the authorities in Mexico. All the Sonorans
agreed that these men had instigated the revolt,
Apalategui being the active agent. The ayuntamiento
on the evening of the 7th issued an address to the peo-
ple, in which the events of the day were narrated, and
a similar report respecting the doings of 'una reunion
acefala de Sonorenses' was forwarded the same night to
Figueroa. Unconditional pardon was granted to the
Sonorans, and some twenty of the number started im-
mediately for Sonora, where many of them were arrested
and submitted to a close examination respecting their
deeds in California. The taking of evidence and other
routine formalities of the case against Apalategui and
Torres occupied two months, and in May they were sent
off to Mexico as disturbers of the public peace and con-
spirators against the legitimate authority.
The testimony and correspondence respecting the
Apalategui revolt as preserved in the archives form a
very voluminous record, of which I offer a partial re-
sume in the accompanying note. 19 From the whole
19 March 3d, Lieut-col. Gutierrez to Figueroa, that he suspected Torres and
is watching him. Dep>t. St. Pap., MS., iv. 7-8. March 7th, record of events
at Angeles — including ayunt. session; two letters of Gallardo to the ayunt. ;
Gutierrez to the ayunt. and to F.; and ayunt. to F. and to the people, in
Los Angeles Arch., MS., i. 36-8, 41-3; iv. 152-64; Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS.,
ii. 17-25; v. 185-96; Dept. St. Pap., Angeles, MS., i. 174-5; Figueroa, Mani-
fiesto, 130-1, 146-7. March 8th, 10th, 11th, 14th, corresp. on subsequent
CAUSES OF THE RISING. 285
it appears that the Sonorans had no special grievance
to redress, but were easily induced to join what they
were led to regard as a general and popular move-
ment, which they abandoned as soon as they learned
its unpopularity; that the immediate motives of the
leaders Gallardo and Castillo are not known; that
alarms and rumors. One or two arrests were made, and the Sonorans feared
punishment and sent a committee, including Wm A. Richardson, to plead for
them with Gutierrez. On March 19th, F. sent a full pardon and permission to
return to Sonora. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 25-7; v. 191-6; Dept. St.
Pap., MS., iv. 23. March 11th to May 6th. Apaldtegui and Torres, Causa
seguida contra ellos por Conspiradores, 1835, MS., 100 p. Testimony and legal
proceedings, with some additional papers, in Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 21-3;
Dept. St. Pap., Angeles, MS., ii. 12-13. Fragmentary testimony of Hidalgo
and others at Monterey in Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., liii. 77-86. Ga-
llardo and Castillo testified that A. and T. had seduced the Sonorans, assur-
ing them that the happiness of Cal. depended on the movement, and that all
the settlers and the ayunt. were in favor of it, and had given the pronunci-
ados $2 each. T. they said had furnished $60 to buy lead, etc. A. deposed
that T. and Gallardo had led him into the affair; but admitted that he him-
self had written the plan and lent $200 for distribution. He said that Ga-
Uardowas the leader, and had secured there-payment of the $200 by pledging
his horses. He thought that many citizens of Los Angeles and some foreign-
ers of Sta Barbara knew of the plot in advance. T. swore that he had made
many objections to the plan shown him by A. and Gallardo after they had
'pronounced;' that he had loaned a little money without knowing for what it
was to be used; and that he had never favored nor instigated the movement.
Miguel Hidalgo testified at Monterey that T. at Los Angeles had tried to in-
duce him and others to join a plot, though speaking very guardedly. All ef-
forts to prove by this witness an understanding with Hijar or others failed
completely. Several foreigners, including Dr Wm Reid, Hugo Reid, and
Santiago Johnson, testified that they knew nothing of the revolt except by
rumors; but they said some arms had been taken from them or other foreigners.
There was some evidence respecting the manufacture of lances and the pay-
ment of various sums of money, implicating none but Gallardo. A. 's defender
Was Julian Padilla, Osio declining; and T. was defended by Regina de la
Mora. The fiscal was Manuel Requena. There is nothing in the legal rou-
tine that requires notice. The defence was confined mainly to protests, com-
plaints of irregularities in the proceedings, and declarations of the ease with
which the innocence of the accused was to be shown before the sup. court in
Mexico. On June 13th, theasesor, Cosme Pefia, reviewed the case; and June
30th the alcalde rectified certain errors. April 10 to May 6, 1835, Apaldte-
gui and Torres, Averiguacion en Sonora del Tumulto kecho en Los Angeles por
varios Sonorenses a Instigation de los dirhos Gcfes, MS. , 50 p. About a dozen men
were examined in this Sonora investigation, and the general purport of their
testimony was that the Sonorans had joined what they were led by Apaldte-
gui to regard as a general movement of Los Angeles, the prominent citizens
of the south, and the foreign residents, made with a view to restore the mis-
sions to the padres, and that they had abandoned the scheme as soon as its
time nature was known. The record is a fragment, and the result not known.
March 13th, Figueroa at S. Juan Bautista toayunt. of Angeles on the events
cf March 7th. Original in Coronet, Doc. Hist. Cal., MS., 23-34; Figueroa,
Manifesto, 147-51. Same to alcalde of Monterey. Original in Vallejo, Doc,
MS., xxxi. 175. Same to alcalde of S. Diego. Hayes, Miss. Book, i. 228.
Same to Gutierrez in Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 9-10. Replies of Argiielloand
Portilla. March 21st, all right at S. Diego and S. Luis Rey. Id., iv. 13-14.
23G FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ- THE COLONY.
Antonio Apalategui, who may have had a personal
grievance against Figueroa, was the active instigator,
though hardly more prominent than Gallardo; that
Torres probably encouraged the plot, though acting
with much caution and secrecy; and finally that there
is no evidence to connect either the colony or its di-
rectors with the movement in any way. There is
room, however, for a plausible conjecture that Torres,
in behalf of himself and his associates, was disposed
to test by experiment the strength of Figueroa's
popularity in the south.
Figueroa was at San Juan Bautista on March 13th
when he heard of the affair at Los Angeles. His
theory was that that revolt was part of a deliberate plan
on the part of Padres and Hijar to overthrow him and
seize the mission property. That same day, in addi-
tion to the despatches which he sent south, as already
noticed, he sent to Hijar an order suspending him
and Padres from their positions as directors, directing
them to give up all arms and munitions to Vallejo,
and to start at onco for Mexico to answer before the
supreme government for their conduct in California. 20
At the same time he ordered Vallejo at Solano to
receive the surrender of Hijar and Padres, to seize
all the arms and ammunition in possession of the col-
onists, to arrest Francisco Verduzco and Pomualdo
Lara, and to embark all on board the Rosa, a Sar-
dinian bark then in the port of San Francisco, to the
captain of which vessel the corresponding instruc-
tions, or request rather, were forwarded at the same
March 19th, ayunt. of Angeles receives written thanks from F. Los Angeles,
Arch., MS., iv. 1G5. March 30th, thanks expressed by F. verbally. Id., iv.
ICG. In April Mariano Bonilla, a teacher of the colony, was removed from his
school at Monterey and ordered to be sent away for complicity in this affair;
but he did not leave Cal. St. Pap., Miss., MS., ix. 28. May 7th, A. and T.
taken to S. Pedro. Dept. St. Pap., Anyeles, MS., ii. 13. The date of sailing
on the Loriot is not known.
20 liyueroa, Manifesto, 157-8; Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 27-9. F.
claims to have been fully aware of the plots that were being formed, and of
the purposes with which Torres had been sent to Los Angeles, but had calm-
ly awaited the outbreak before taking any definite action. It is true that on
Mar. 4th he had warned Vallejo to look out for any attempt at revolt.
Vallejo, Doc, MS., iii. 13.
ARREST OF THE COLONISTS. 287
date. 21 Vallejo received the order on the 14th,
"watched the colonists until their preparations called
for prompt action, and then suddenly fell upon them
on the 16th at 4 p. M., arresting Verduzco, Lara, and
others," who the next day were taken on board the
Rosa at San Francisco. 22 On the 15th, several ses-
sions of the Monterey ayuntamiento were held to
approve all the governor had done and proposed to
do; though the latter seems not to have made known
his orders to Vallejo, and the ayuntamiento declined
to name the persons who ought to be sent away.
Next day Figueroa issued a printed address to the
people, announcing that "the genius of evil has
appeared among you, scattering the deadly poison of
discord," declaiming: in the most bitter terms against
Hijar and Padres, congratulating all that he has been
able to save his beloved country, and promising a
more complete vindication of his policy later. 23 On the
17th, Hijar, still at Solano, replied to Figueroa's order
of the 13th with a protest against the insult offered
him, a declaration of his belief that the revolt was
purely imaginary, a denial of the governor's right
to suspend him, an expression of his determination
to drag his prosecutor before competent tribunals,
a complaint of unnecessary outrage at the hands
of Vallejo, but at the same time an announcement of
his disposition to yield to force and obey the order to
21 March 13, 1835, F. to Vallejo in Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 11-12; Id.,
Ben., ii. 29-31. Private note of same tenor and date, in Vallejo, Doc, MS.,
iii. 18. Ignacio Coronel, Rafael Padre's, and other suspected persons were
also to be sent on board the Rosa. Request to capt. of the Rosa, who was
desired to take the prisoners to S. Bias if possible — the same being also com-
municated to the captain of the port at Monterej^ in Dept. St. Pap., Ben.
Ml., MS., lxxxvii. G9. F. to Alf. Valle. Valle, Doc, MS., 40.
22 Vallejo, Doc, MS., iii. 25. 37 rifles were seized besides other muni-
tions. Id., xxiii. 4. Mar. 19th, Verduzco to Padre's from the Rosa. Id., iii.
21. March 20th, Vallejo certifies that before the rifles were taken 2 parties of
the colonists had departed to other parts of the territory. Also that no
resistance was made. Id., iii. 22. Vallejo went back on the 18th to Solano
after putting his prisoners on the bark.
23 Monterey, Actos del Ayunt., MS., 73-80. Figueroa, el Comandante Gen.
y Gefe Politico de la Alta Cat. d los Habitantes del terrilorio. Monterrey, 1835,
1 sheet, in Earliest Printing in Cal.; Castro, Doc, MS., i. 22; Figueroa, Mani-
jietto, 151-4.
23S FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
depart. 24 Neither Hijar nor Padres was arrested
at Solano, but at San Francisco on March 26th they
went on board the Rosa in obedience to Figueroa's
orders as exhibited by Vallejo, and the vessel sailed
for Monterey. 23
The Rosa, after lying at anchor in the port of Mon-
terey for a week or more, carried the prisoners down
to Santa Barbara, where — numbering with their fam-
ilies twenty-four persons — they arrived on April 16th,
and three days later were transferred to the American
brig Loriot, with the supercargo of which vessel Figue-
roa had made a contract for transporting them with
Torres and Apaliitegui to San Bias. 26 On May. 8th-
9th the Loriot was at San Pedro, but the exact date
of sailing for San Bias does not appear in the record.
Before his departure, Padres addressed to Figueroa
a formal and indignant protest against the summary
and illegal treatment which he had received, accusing
the governor of having been influenced from the first
by hostility to the colony. 27 With the exiles were
21 Figueroa, Manijiesto, 15S-62; Guerra, Doc. Hist. Cal,, MS., v. 106-9.
25 March 26th-27th, Vallejo to Figueroa, Id. to Hijar, H. to V. in VaUejo,
Doc, MS., iii. 24, 2G; vi. 349. Coronel had not been arrested. H. and P.
had started for Monterey by land when ordered to return and embark on the
Rosa. March 30th, some fears of trouble at Monterey reported to F. in the
south, who orders watchfulness, and arrests if disorder occurs but not other-
wise. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 15-16. March 31st, F. at Angeles to Vallejo,
ordering him to form a representation on the acts of H. , P. , and the rest, their
revolutionary projects, seduction of Indians, etc. /(/., iv. 17. April 4th, F. to
V. Has heard of the sailing of the prisoners; V. must keep the effects seized
for the present, and try to discover where the rest of the rifles were that had
been brought by Padres. Id., iv. 19-20. Passage money, etc., to capt. of the
Rosa. Id., iv. 17-19; Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxi. 6.
20 Figueroa had tried to engage the Mexican brig Catalina, Capt. Frederico
Becher, for the service. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 20-1. Contract with A. B.
Thompson of the Loriot, dated Apr. 11th, to sail after Apr. 30th; to carry to
S. Bias and maintain on the voyage Hijar and Padres with their families,
Torres, Apaliitegui, Verduzco, Lara, Bonilla, Araujo, and some others, with
families and luggage; and to receive on return of the vessel $4,000. Id., iv.
24-6. Duties due from Thompson and Robinson were to be deducted from
the amount. Apr. 17th, Padres to F. ; is ready to continue his voyage as or-
dered. Apr. 30th, F. instructs captain not to touch at any other port than
S. Bias. /(/., iv. 27-9. Same date, H. to Guerra, asserting his innocence,
though it cannot be proven ' in this unhappy country, where the laws are
trampled on.' Guerra, Doc., MS., v. 109-10. 24 persons landed on Apr. 19th.
Dept St. Pap., Ben. J///., MS., lxxxi. 6-7.
'-' ' A lay 8th, Padres, Protesta que Dirige D. Jos6 Maria Padre's al Gefe Politico,
1835, MS. May 9th, Gutierrez is at S. Pedro guarding the prisoners and
forming a sumario. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 38.
END OF THE COLONIZATION SCHEME. 289
sent reports of the gefe politico explaining his action
in the matter, together with the indictments more or
less legally substantiated in each case. The docu-
mentary process against Apalategui and Torres was
quite elaborate and has been sufficiently noticed ; that
against the parties arrested in the north is not extant,
if it ever existed in any more definite form than the
somewhat vague accusations of Figueroa and Vallejo. 23
On the sailing of the Loriot from San Pedro, in
May 1835, the famous colonization scheme of Hijar
and Padres, with its attendant controversies, may be
regarded as having come to an end, though over two
hundred of the colonists remained to swell the popu-
lation of California. Figueroa devoted the remaining
few months of his life to the preparation of an elabo-
28 Mar. 31st, F. to sec. of the interior, reporting the plots of H. and P. and
his own policy, without mention of the arrests in the north — also some accom-
panying correspondence. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 182-3, 185, 198. May 5th,
If. to sec. of state. Reports his later proceedings. H. and P. go to Mex. to
answer to the sup. govt, whose employees they are; Torres and Apalategui go
as prisoners at the disposal of the sup. court; Verduzco, Lara, and Rafael
Padres are also implicated in the revolt, and are to await the result of their
trial (that is, probably the sumario in a complete form was not sent with
them); and Lieut Araujo goes because he is of no use in Cal., is sick, and has
asked to be removed, besides being being an adherent of Hijar. Dept. St.
Pap., MS., iv. 29-31. April 15th, Vallejo at Solano sends to F. the pro-
ceedings or investigations against the colonists. The documents are not
given; but in his letter V. states that the coming of Hijar, Verduzco, and
Lara caused great excitement; that they openly talked of surprising the gar-
rison; that he overheard them plan to capture him, first occupying the church;
that he was on the watch for 9 days until the order came from F. ; that he
seized and disarmed them on the 16th, as they were cleaning their weapons;
and that the wife of Padres exclaimed on that occasion, 'I am glad they have
been headed off for being so slow.' Vallejo, Doc, MS., iii. 28. May 21st,
F. sends V. 27 pages of proceedings against Padre's and associates, instruct-
ing him to continue them as fiscal. Other allusions to these papers. Id. , iii.
23, 50, 52. Vallejo, Hist. Cal, MS., iii. 39-42, says that the colonists at
Solano instead of going to work spent their time in plotting and gaining the
good will of the Indians, Lara and Verduzco spending in presents for the In-
dians the $2,000 that F. had paid for the support of the colony. They told
him he was lucky in making the arrest just when he did, for half an hour
later they would have seized him. They accused Pepe de la Rosa of having be-
trayed their plots, but unjustly, since Rosa's interviews with Vallejo were as
a printer and not as a politician. Brown, Statement, MS., 9-10, who was at
Solano at the time of the arrests, thinks Rosa did give the information. Alf.
Ignacio del Valle took a prominent part in protecting the country from im-
aginary plots, as is shown by the records and by his own statement. Valle,
Lo Pasaclo de Cal., MS., 13-14. Coronel, Cosas de Cal., MS., 12-14, is sure
there were no thoughts of revolt at Sonoma. Janssens, Vida y Aven., MS.,
51-7, also regards the charges as having been invented by F. and V. to get
rid of H. and P.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 19
290 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
rate defence of his own policy, which was a very com-
plete history of the whole affair, and has been fully
utilized with other documents in the preceding pages.
It was besides one of the earliest specimens of Califor-
nia printing — in fact, the second book printed in the
territory. 29 As a defence, the production is some-
what too elaborate and earnest. The governor's ac-
tion at the beginning in refusing to give up the com-
mand and the mission property, as later in banishing
Apalategui and Torres, were so manifestly just and
proper as to require no justification. His acts in other
phases of the controversy, not perhaps without a cer-
tain foundation of justice and policy, would show to
better advantage without the declamatory arguments
in their support with which the volume is largely
filled. The author's very earnestness and violence at
times betray the weakness of his cause. The charge
of bribery against Hijar should have been made sooner
or not at all. I have elsewhere expressed my belief
that the revolutionary plots of Hijar and Padres were
largely imaginary.
Of the men exiled from California at this time, Hi-
jar will re-appear in the history of a later period ; but
of the rest I know nothing. I have found no record
bearing upon their reception and treatment in Mexico,
nor any evidence that the directors ever published a
reply to Figueroa's manifiesto, or took any other steps
to vindicate their conduct in California. For them
the colony and the Companfa Cosmopolitana were dis-
astrous failures. Of Padres I would gladly append a
biographical sketch, as I have done of other promi-
t
29 Figueroa, Manifiesto a la Bepiiblica Mejicana que kace el General de Brl-
gada Jos6 Figueroa, Comandante General y Gefe Politico de la Alta California,
sobre su conductay lade los Senores D. Jos6 Maria de Hijar, y D. Jos6 Maria
Padre's, como Directores de Colonizacion en 1834 y 1835. Monterrey, 1835.
Imprenta del C. Agustin V. Zamorano, 12mo. 184 p. This book was being
printed when the author died, and contains some obituary matter to be no-
ticed later. An English translation was printed in S. Francisco in 1855. Figue-
roa, The Manifiesto ichich the, General of Brigade, etc., S. F. 1855, 8vo, 104 p.,
the title on the cover being Missions of California. As has been seen, the orig-
inals of most documents published in the Manifiesto are extant, either in my
collection or in some of the archives.
SESSIONS OF THE DIPUTACION. 291
nent men; but beyond his first coming in 1830 as ayu-
clante inspector, his influence with Echeandia and the
Californians in behalf of radical republicanism and sec-
ularization, his exile by Victoria in 1831, his connec-
tion with the colony as just related, and something of
his character which the reader has learned in these
chapters, I have no information to offer.
At the election of October 1834, four or five men
were chosen to replace the outgoing vocales of the
diputacion ; 3J but that corporation did not assemble,
chiefly because three of the members were ill, until
August 25, 1835, the sessions continuing, according
to the records, until October 12th. I append a brief
resume of the business transacted. 31 President Figue-
roa's opening address was short, being a congratulation
on the escape of the country from dangers that had
30 The election record, Actas de Elecciones, MS., 19-21, does not show who
were elected. The hold-over members were J. A. Carrillo, Estudillo, and
Castro; and the new diputacion seems to have been composed as follows: 1st
vocal, Jose' Antonio Carrillo, absent as congressman; 2d, Jos6 Maria Estudillo,
excused on account of sickness. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii. 17; 3d, Jose*
Castro; 4th, Juan B. Alvarado (though it is not clear whether he was 4th or
5th or 6th, and in one record, Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 42-3, Figueroa summons
him as a suplente); 5th, Manuel Jimeno Casarin; 6th, Antonio Buelna; 7th,
absent and unknown (perhaps J. A. de la Guerra); suplente, present, Salvio
Pacheco; secretary, Jose Maria Maldonado. Leg. Bee, MS., ii. 212-15.
31 Aug. 25, 1835, examination of credentials; appointment of committees;
and address by the pres. Buelna granted leave of absence on account of ill-
ness, (p. 212-16.) Aug. 27th, Sec. Maldonado offered his resignation, and
asked to be paid $120 due him. Aug. 29th, land grants submitted for ap-
proval. Sept. 1st, ditto; Maldonado submitted an index of documents in the
archives, and retired, his place being taken by Alvarado. Sept. 3d, land
grants; and wild cattle, (p. 217-18.) Sept. 5th, commun. from Los Angeles
on cutting timber; from the alcalde of Monterey on boundaries of the capital.
Sept. 10th, petition of inhabitants of S. Francisco to be attached to the
jurisdiction of S. Josd for convenience of all concerned. Sept. 12th, 15th,
21st, land grants, (p. 219-21.) Sept. 26th, commun. from J. M. J. Gonzalez
on appointment as police commissioner at Sta Inds. Oct. 10th, teacher at Sta
Clara resigns; and Ignacio Coronel wants an appointment as teacher at S.
Buenaventura. Oct. 12th, land grants. Prop, to place the portrait of the late
Gen. Figueroa in the hall of sessions, (p. 221-2.) Oct. 14th, land grants. Oct.
15th, claim of Estudillo to be gefe politico ad interim, backed by the ayunt.
of S. Diego, referred to com., but no action. Acting gefe pol. Castro au-
thorized to collect his salary. Munic. fund of Monterey. Land grants. Oct.
16th, Salvio Pacheco granted leave of absence for sickness. No formal ad-
journment. Leg. Bee, MS., ii. 212-26. On p. 262-9 are found also many
communications of no available importance connected with the acts of the
dip.
292 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
lately threatened; and the routine of business at
successive sessions was for the most part unimportant,
though I shall have occasion to notice elsewhere a
few of the topics treated. The president was occu-
pied with other matters, and the chief aim of the
legislators was apparently to devise acceptable excuses
for obtaining leave of absence. It is remarkable that
Figueroa did not bring before the diputacion his
policy and acts toward Hijar and Padres with a view
to strengthen his record with the approval of that
body; but for some reason this was not deemed neces-
sary.
At the election of October 1834, Jose Antonio
Carrillo had been chosen diputado to congress, with
Mariano G. Vallejo as substitute. 32 Carrillo seems to
have been at his post early in 1835, and his influence
is apparent in an order of President Barragan dated
May 23d, publishing the following decree of congress:
"The pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California is
erected into a city, and it will be in future the capital
of that territory." So well pleased was Don Jose
Antonio with this achievement in behalf of his town,
that he secured an impression from the type on white
satin, which, tastefully bordered in blue, perhaps by
Senora Carrillo, is in my collection. 33 The order was
not officially published in California until December;
but the news came that such a change was contern-
plated, and the effect at Monterey may be imagined.
32 See chap. ix. of this volume.
33 Pico, Doc, MS., i. 1. The satin copy is mentioned by several Califor-
nians. Decree also given in Dept. St. Pap., S. Jose, MS., ii. 135; Id., Mont,
iii. 47; Arrillaga, Pecop., 1835, 189-90, where it is said to have been published
on June 10th; Dublan and Lozano, Leg. Mex., iii. 51. Decrees of congress
dated March 21 and October 26, 1835, that diputados from Cal. are to
have voice and vote in forming laws and decrees. Id., iii. 91; Dept. St. Pap.,
Mont., MS., iii. 56; Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., xi. 1-2. June 13th, order
concerning payment of dietas and vidticos. Arrillaga, Eecop., 1835, 223-6.
Oct. 15th, min. of war to gov., diputados ordered to proceed to Mex. without
excuse. St. Pap., Sac., MS., xvi. 14. Dana, Tioo Years before the Mast, 196,
says inaccurately that the form of sending representatives to congress was
gone through; but there was little communication with the national capital,
so a member usually stayed permanently, knowing there would be revolutions
at home, and if another member should be sent, he had only to challenge him
and thus decide the contested election,
CHANGE OF CAPITAL. 293
A meeting of the ayuntamiento was called October
12th, before which body reasons most unanswerable
and convincing — to the people of Monterey — were
adduced why the proposed change of capital would be
a measure outrageously detrimental if not fatal to all
the best interests of the territory. 34 A report of
Hartnell and Pacheco as a committee was approved,
sustaining objections to the change, and recommend-
ing a protest. This action was passed immediately
to the diputacion, which body on the 14th confirmed
it, resolved that the reports of the territorial congress-
men were based on selfish interests, decided to remain
with the gefe politico "at this capital" until further
action ; and sent the whole expediente to Mexico by
the Catalina on the 15th. 35
Figueroa still bore in mind the importance to Mexi-
can interests of founding a frontier settlement and
garrison north of San Francisco Bay. In fact, he had
temporarily suspended the enterprise only from fear
of what he chose to regard as the revolutionary plans
31 Of these reasons I note the following: Monterey has been the capital for
more than 70 years; both Calif ornians and foreigners have learned to regard
it as the capital; interests have been developed which should not be ignored;
and a change would engender dangerous rivalries. The capital of a maritime
country should be a port, and not an inland place. Monterey is a secure,
well known, and frequented port, well provided with wood, water, and provi-
sions; where a navy-yard and dock may be constructed. Monterey has a
larger population than Los Angeles; the people are more moral and cul-
tured (!); and the prospects for advancement are superior. Monterey has
decent buildings for govt uses, to build which at Los Angeles will cost $30, -
000; and besides, some documents may be lost in moving the archives.
Monterey has central position, mild climate, fertile soil, developed agricul-
ture; here women, plants, and useful animals are very productive ! Monterey
is nearer the northern frontier, and therefore better fitted for defence. It
would be unjust to compel the majority to go so far on government business.
It would be impossible to assemble a quorum of the dip. at Los Angeles.
The sensible people, even of the south, acknowledge the advantages of Mon-
terey. Monterey had done no wrong to be deprived of its honor, though
unrepresented in congress; while the last three deputies have had personal
and selfish interests in favor of the south.
35 Monterey, Acuerdo del Ayuntamiento y de la Diputacion contra el pro-
puesto Cambio de Capital en favor de Los Angelex, 1835, MS. In Monterey,
Actos de Ayunt., MS., 118-20, the matter was first brought up on the 10th
and the report approved on the 13th. Carrillo's letter with the decree was
received Dec. 31st. /(/., 146. This action of the diputacion, as we have seen,
is not given in the legislative records.
294 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
of Hijar and Padres. As soon as these betes noirs
were fairly out of the country, therefore, he instructed
Vallejo to establish at once garrison, town, and colony.
His letters accompanying the instructions to Vallejo
were dated June 24, 1835, and the site was to be in
Sonoma Valley, instead of that formerly chosen at
Santa Rosa. The chief motive announced was a de-
sire to check the possible advance of Russian settle-
ment from Bodega and Ross. Vallejo was authorized
to issue grants of lands, which would be confirmed,
and the only precaution urged was that the Mexican
population should always be in excess of the foreign;
that is, that the granting of lands should be made
an obstacle rather than an aid to foreign encroach-
ment. The young alferez was praised and flattered
without stint, and urged to strive for "that reward
to which all men aspire, posthumous fame," even if he
should be called upon to make personally some ad-
vances of necessary supplies for the colony. The
truth is, that Figueroa was not quite easy respecting
the view that would be taken in Mexico of that part
of his policy toward Hijar and Padres which had
caused the abandonment of the northern settlement;
but with such a settlement actually established he
would have no fears; hence his zeal. 36 The instruc-
tions that accompanied these letters are not extant,
nor have we any official record respecting the founding
of the town. We know only that at the ex-mission
of San Francisco Solano, where he had spent much of
the time for nearly a year as comisionado of seculari-
zation, Vallejo established himself with a small force
in the summer of 1835, and laid out a pueblo to which
was given the original name of the locality, Sonoma,
Valley of the Moon, a name that for ten years and
more had been familiar to the Californians. Vallejo
80 June 24, 1835, confidential letters of Figueroa to Vallejo — or what
purport to he and probably are copies of such letters — furnished by Vallejo
to Gen. Kearny in 1847, in St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS.,ii. 40G-S; also
printed with English translation in Californian, Apr. 13, 1847; Calif. Star,
March 13, 1847; Jones' Report, no. 24.
SONOMA— DEATH OF FIGUEROA. 295
soon gained, by the aid of his military force, and es-
pecially by alliance with Solano, the Suisun chief, a
control over the more distant tribes which had never
been equalled by the missionary and his escolta, a
functionary who, however, still remained as curate.
Quite a number of families, both Californians and
members of the famous colony, settled at Sonoma. 37
Jose Figueroa died at Monterey September 29th,
at 5.30 P. M., from the effects of an apoplectic attack,
after about a month's illness. The funeral ceremonies,
with firing of guns and other military honors, took
place at the capital October 2d, being attended by all
the people of the vicinity, and by prominent men
from all parts of the territory. The body was em-
balmed rudely and taken to Santa Barbara by the
Avon, which sailed the 17th, to be deposited in a
vault of the mission church on the 29 th. There the
remains were to lie, according to Figueroa's request,
until the Mexican government should send for them
to render fitting honors to the memory of a warrior
who had distinguished himself in the struggle for
independence. Mexico never did anything of the
kind, and the Californians were not much more zeal-
ous in perpetuating his memory. The diputacion, on
motion of Juan B. Alvarado, passed some very eulo-
gistic resolutions in the sessions of October 10th-14th,
providing for the hanging of Figueroa's portrait in
37 Details given by Vallejo, Hist. Gal. MS., iii. 11-22, and less fully by
Alvarado, Hist. Gal. MS., ii. 199-202, the same having been reproduced in
different combinations by several newspaper writers are so manifestly inac-
curate in so far as they can be tested as to be of no value. The general idea
conveyed is that of an expedition into a new frontier country, including bat-
tles, maritime adventures, and treaties with thousands of hitherto hostile In-
dians; the past 10 years of peaceful occupation and Vallejo's own past
residence at Sonoma being substantially ignored. The foundation of the town
is also made to precede the expulsion of Hijar and Padre's. Vallejo men-
tions the following names on his way to Sonoma: Pt Novato; Embarcadero
of P. Ventura, orLakeviIlc; Pt Tolai, on Midshipman's Creek; and Pulpula,
or Pope's Landing. Vallejo also states that W. A. Richardson assisted him
in making the survey. In 18G1 Santiago Argiiello assured Judge Hayes,
Emig. Note*, 454, that he was the founder of Sonoma, having made the map,
etc. 500 soldiers is a favorite newspaper statement of Vallejo's force. 25
would perhaps be a more accurate estimate.
296 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
the legislative hall, with the inscription "Benefactor
of the Territory of Alta California;" for a suitable monu-
ment to be erected at Monterey ; and for the printing
of the resolutions in the manifiesto about to be pub-
lished. The monument was intrusted to the ayunta-
miento, which body before the end of 1835 had gone
so far as to devise an appropriate inscription in Latin
and Spanish, and to ask officially how the cost was to
be paid. Here the matter ended for all time. 33
A biographical sketch of Figueroa, as in the case
of his predecessor Victoria, is not required here,
because all that is known of his life has been told in
this and the two preceding chapters. In person, he
was a little below medium height, thick set, with a
swarthy complexion, black and abundant hair, scanty
38 Sept. 29th, Zamorano to comandantes, and private letters to Vallejo and
Valle announcing the death. Vallejo, Doc, MS., iii. 74-5. Record of the
death also in S. Dierjo, Arch., MS., 59; Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 56. On Sept.
2Gth the American mtklico Stokes had joined the council of doctors to con-
sider the governor's case. Dept. St. Pap., Pre/, y Juzg., MS., v. 53. Sept.
3d, F. had been at S. Rafael. Id., Ben. Mil., lxxviii. 8. Military
honors ordered, including a gun each half hour for about a week, besides
special artillery evolutions on the day of funeral. Id., Ben. Mil., lxxx. 20-1.
Valle, Lo Pasado de Gal., MS., 15, speaks of having been at Sta Cruz where
he heard the first guns without knowing the occasion. Figueroa had ordered
a grand celebration of the national fiesta on Sept. 10th. Id., 19-20. Trans-
fer of the remains to the south on the Avon, and ceremonies at Sta Barbara.
Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 58-9; Id., Ben. Mil, lxxx. 23. The mission books
of Sta B. contain no record on the subject, probably because the deposit in
the vault was not intended as a permanent one. Accounts of the embalming
of the body by Drs Alva, Stokes, Cooper, and others, in Gonzalez, Memorial,
MS., 17-18; Dye's Recol., MS., 3; Gomez, Lo que Sabe, MS., 178-9; Pinto,
Apunt., MS., 12-13. It is stated by Gonzalez and Gomez that the remains
were removed from the vault in 1845, at which time the coffin was opened
and found to contain nothing of the body but dust; and it was thought this ef-
fect was due to the arsenic used in the embalming process. From Mexico there
came in time an order dated Feb. 8, 1830, that the remains should be placed
where Figueroa had desired. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., xii. 1. Action of the
dip. and ayunt., in Figueroa, Manifiesto, 177-84; Leg. Pec., MS., ii. 222, 2G8-9;
Monterey, Actos de Ayunt., MS., 122, 134-5; Robinson's Life in Gal., 1GS-72;
Vallejo, Hist. Gal., iii. 60-7. The inscription to be put on the monument
was as follows in substance: 'To the Eternal Memory | of GeneralJose Figue-
roa I Political and Military Chief | of Alta California | Father of the Coun-
try J dedicate this monument | the Provincial Diputacion | and the Ayunta-
miento of Monterrey | at public expense | as a mark of gratitude. | Died in this
capital | Sept. 29, 1835 | at the age of 43.' General mentions of F. 's death, with
more or less eulogy, in nearly every case, in Pico, Acont., MS., 26-7; Grd,
Ocurrencias, MS., G8-9; Galindo, Apuntes, MS., 31; Castro, Pel., MS. 35-0;
Amador, Mem., MS., 142; Fernandez, Gosas, MS., 70-2, 84-5; Vallejo, Rem-
inis., MS., 116; Aloarado, Hist. Gal., MS., ii. 238-9; iii. 37-40; Vallejo,
Hist. Gal., MS., iii. 55-9; TuthiWs Hist. Gal., 139-40.
FIGUEROA'S CHARACTER. 297
beard, piercing eyes, protruding lip, and large prom-
inent teeth. He is believed to have had a large
admixture of Indian blood. In manner, he was
extremely affable and fascinating, especially in his
intercourse with inferiors. His favorite vice was
gambling ; and though there is some evidence that he
had a family in Mexico, he kept a mistress, and left a
natural daughter in California. He brought to the
country a military reputation, considerable experience,
good administrative abilities, and great skill in the
arts' by which personal popularity is acquired. His
term of office in California was brief, and the circum-
stances of his rule were favorable. His enemies were for
the most part men of straw ; his partisans were then and
later the controlling element of the population. Even
the padres were forced by circumstances into a partial
and negative support of his policy. Moreover, he did
some really good work in organizing territorial and
local government, and he made no serious errors. He
was liberal in the matter of land grants and in his
policy toward foreigners. He antagonized no class,
but flattered all. Hence an enviable reputation, for
the Californians have nothing but praise for the
character and acts of Fioaieroa. He has been for-
tunate in his fame. Eulogy has been exaggerated; I
think the man's acts and correspondence show traits
of character that under less favorable circumstances
would have given him a much less favorable record.
Nevertheless, he is probably entitled to his position
in history as the best Mexican governor ever sent to
rule California. 39 In several following chapters I
39 Some miscellaneous items about Figueroa: Bandini is the only prom-
inent Calif ornian who did not share the enthusiasm for F. , and even he in
his History and correspondence did not deem it expedient to speak very decid-
edly against the popular sentiment. Osio, Hist. Cal., MS., 240-8, narrates
that F. was silent partner with Angel Ramirez in a monte game at the cap-
ital, which was broke up by the alcalde, tells of his giving a banquet in
honor of a newly married Indian couple, and himself leading the dance with
the bride, and states that his sympathy for the natives made him too lenient
in punishing their crimes. F.'s physical appearance is spoken of particularly
in Pico, Hist. Cal., MS., 5G-7; Botello, Amies, MS., 13-17; Avila, Notas,
MS., 16; ValdeS, Mem., MS., 23; Vega, Vida Cal., MS., 13; Serrano,
293 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ -THE COLONY.
shall have occasion to speak frequently of Figueroa,
though in this I leave him in his tomb.
In May 1835 the gefe politico had notified the su-
preme government that he should be obliged to sur-
render the office temporarily to the senior vocal of the
diputacion and seek relief for his illness away from the
capital. He then intended to make the change in
June, but did not do so until after the diputacion had
assembled. On August 29th he issued an order to
Jose Castro as senior vocal to assume the office as act-
ing gefe politico during his necessary absence. Cor-
responding circular orders were sent the same day to
the different alcaldes. 40 It is not known what part
of the time in September Figueroa was absent from
Monterey, nor what duties if any Jose Castro per-
formed as acting ^efe in that month. He doubtless
presided at several sessions of the diputacion at any
rate. Just before his death, however, in accordance
with the national law of May 6, 1822, and with the
strong popular feeling in favor of a separation of the
commands, Figueroa disposed that Castro should suc-
ceed him as gefe politico ad interim, while Lieutenant-
colonel Nicolas Gutierrez, as the ranking officer in Cal-
ifornia, was to assume the position of comandante gen-
eral. Gutierrez had been summoned to the capital by
letter of September 22d, and arrived a few days after
Figueroa' s death. After urging various excuses — ill
health, want of ability, aversion from stepping into
Apuntes, MS., 28-30; Torre, JReminis., MS., 32, 36-7, 51-2. All speak in
praise of his character, as in Arcc, Memorias, MS., 5-6; Pico, Acont., MS.,
24, 27; Pinto, Apunt., MS., 12-14; 3Iarsh's Letter, MS., 5-7; Spence's Notes,
MS., 16-17; Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 54, 61, 68. Alvarado and Vallejo, Hist.
Cal, MS., passim, are very enthusiastic in their praise of the man and all
his acts. Requena, in Hayes' Miscellany, 29, says that F. bought the Alami-
tos rancho in 1835 for $500. Mention of a family in Mexico and heirs to the
California estate. This in 1854 in connection with a suit of Stearns about
Alamitos. Doc. Hist. Cal., MS., i. 518. The idea expressed by Tu thill and
others that F. was harassed to death by his enemies, or worn out by his labors
ia behalf of Cal., has little foundation in fact.
40 Aug. 29, 1835, F. to C. to alcaldes, and to prefect of missions. Dept. St.
Pap., MS., iv. 48; Id., Aug., xi. 37-9; S. Diego, Arch., MS., 50. Arch. Ar-
%6b., MS., v. pt ii. 11-12. In Monterey, Actos Ayunt., MS., 125-7, the date
is Aug. 27th, when F. announced the change to dip. and ayunt.
CASTRO AS GOVERNOR. 209
the place of a deceased friend, and his Spanish birth — ■
for declining the command, he at last yielded to the
decision of a council of war and accepted the office on
the 8th of October. 41
Castro was in reality third vocal in rank of senior-
ity, though the oldest who had been present in the
sessions of this year. Jose Antonio Carrillo was in
Mexico, but Jose Antonio Estudillo was at San Diego,
being excused on account of illness. To him doubt-
less the gefatura belonged, unless so ill as to be un-
able to perform the duties. The ayuntamiento of San
Die^o took this view of the matter at the session of
September 21st, held on receipt of the circular of
August 29th, and sent a corresponding protest. This
would seem an excellent foundation for a quarrel; but
the records are vague respecting subsequent develop-
ments. Estudillo's claims were never allowed, ap-
parently never even considered at the capital, and
were abandoned soon by himself and friends. Possi-
bly he was really too ill to take the office; and it is
also possible that, as Bandini states, Castro turned
over the office to the comandante general without
much objection early the next year to avoid turning
it over to Estudillo. 42 Castro at any rate assumed the
41 Oct. 8, 1835, Gutierrez to Castro, to comandantes, and to ayuntamientos.
Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 5G-8; Id., Ben. Com. and Treas., iii. 70-81;
Id., S. Jose, v. 1-2; S. Diego, Arch., MS., 5G-S; Hayes' Doc. Hist. Gal.,
MS., 31. Oct. 9th, order in the garrison order-book for Gutierrez to be recog-
nized, signed by Capt. Mulioz. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., Ixxx. 22.
42 Sept. 21, 1831, action of ayuntamiento in favor of Estudillo. S. Diego,
Arch., MS., 5G-7; Hayes' Doc, MS., 29; Dept. St. Pap., Pre/, y Juzg., MS.,
iii. 34; Oct. 10th, Castro to alcalde of S. Diego, complaining that no answer
had been received to the circular of Aug. 29th, which had conveyed the infor-
mation of his appointment 'on account of the absence and sickness of the vocal
to whom it belonged.' (There had been nothing of the kind in the circular.)
He had heard that there was some difficulty at S. Diego about recognizing
him (he must naturally have seen the protest of Sept. 21st, sent to Figueroa),
and asks for information without delay. S. Diego, Arch., MS., Gl. In S.
Diego, Index, MS., 15, allusion is made to a reply of the ayunt. sustaining
E.'s claims. Oct. 15th, communications from E. and from the ayunt. were
received by the dip. and referred to a committee; but there is no record of
discussion or of results. Leg. Pec, MS., ii. 222-4. In Savage, Doc, MS.,
42-1, is an undated record or argument on the subject, apparently emanating
from Bandini, in which Castro's arguments arc referred to, thus implying that
there had been a correspondence and refusal by Castro. At the same session
the payment of Castro's salary was authorized at $3,000 per year. Jan. 22,
300 FIGUEROA, CASTRO, AND GUTIERREZ— THE COLONY.
office, was supported by the diputacion, and recog-
nized by all the local authorities of the territory,
meeting no opposition except that alluded to in San
Diego. He ruled until January 1836; but during
his term there was nothing in connection with po-
litical annals which calls for notice here. Castro
carried out as nearly as possible his predecessor's
plans, performed faithfully the few routine duties re-
quired of him, and if he had no opportunity to make
himself famous, he at the least committed no serious
or disgraceful errors. 43
1836, Capt. Portilla to Gutierrez. Says that Pio Pico did not recognize Cas-
tro's right to be gefe politico. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxxi. 31. In
a complaint of the alcalde to the gefe politico in April 1836, the sindico is
charged with having presented in the name of the people a paper inviting
other ayuntamientos not to recognize Castro. He also went about inciting
the Indians to a campaign against Monterey, affirming that Capt. Portilla
would take command of the movement. All this in Dec. 1835. S. Diego,
Arch., MS., 98. Whether this 'plan' had anything in common with that
accredited to Bandini and investigated by Gov. Chico's orders the next year, I
am not quite certain. Id., 104, 116. Bandini's statement is in his Hist. Cal.,
MS., 79-80, but he gives no particulars. Jose Maria Estudillo, Datos, MS.,
7, says that his father was invited by Figueroa to take the gefatura, but de-
clined. Botello, Anales, MS., 17-18, gives the same version.
43 General mention of Castro's succession and rule, including in most case3
the transfer to Gutierrez in Jan. 1836: Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., iii. 41-5,
stating that Zamorano worked hard to induce Figueroa to give both com-
mands to Gutierrez at the first; Larios, Convulsiones, MS., 15-16; Pinto,
Apunt., MS., 14-15; Pico, Acont., MS., 27-8, saying C. expected opposition
from G., and gathered some of his friends and relatives about him; Valle, Lo
Pasado, MS.; Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., iii. 69-74, mentioning some troubles
with P. Mercado; Galindo, Apuntes, MS., 31-2, characterizing the hesitation
of G. to accept the command as mere pretence; Serrano, Apuntes, MS., 30;
Vallejo (J. J.), Reminis., MS., 117, complimenting C. for having kept the
country free from the strife of factions; Juarez, Narr., MS., 7, offsetting C.'s
good record at this time against his bad one of later years; Botello, Anales,
MS., 18-19; TuthiWs Hist. Cal., 141; Ord. Ocnrrencias, MS., 84-5; Mofras,
Explor., i. 298; Marsh's Letter, MS., 7. The last two omit all mention of
C. 's rule, and make G. succeed Figueroa.
CHAPTER XI.
MISSIONS AND SEgULARIZATION.
1831-1833.
Echeandia's Plan of 1830 — Decree of 1831 — The Comisionados — Views
of the Padres — Carrillo's Efforts in Mexico — The Pious Fund —
Events of 1832 — Diputacion and Friars — Echeandia's Reglamen-
to — Notes of Padre Sanchez — Bachelot and Short — Exiles from
the Hawaiian Islands — New Missionaries in 1833 — The Zacate-
canos — Division of the Missions — Troubles in the North— Flog-
ging Neophytes — Supplies for San Francisco — Misconduct of Padre
Mercado at San Rafael — Massacre of Gentiles — Figueroa's In-
structions on Secularization — Echeandia's Regulations — Figue-
roa's Policy — Experiments in the South — Provisional Rules —
Emancipation in Practice — Projects of President Dcran — Figue-
roa's Report against Secularization — Mexican Decrees of 1833 —
President and Prefect.
Most important of general matters for the half-
decade, after or even before political events and an-
nals of the colony, is the affairs of the missions,
especially in the phase of secularization. So closely
is this subject connected with the general history of
the territory, that I have been obliged frequently to
give it more than mere passing mention in the last
four chapters; yet it is absolutely necessary, at the
cost of some slight repetition, to treat the matter sep-
arately and fully. As a fitting introduction, I refer
the reader to what I have written on secularization
for the preceding period of 1826-30, including Echean-
dia's instructions, policy, and efforts. 1 I also append
in a note the substance of Echeandia's plan, as ap-
*See chap, i v., this volume,
(301)
302 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
proved by the diputacion in July and August 1830,
and sent to the supreme government in September
for approval. 2 The padres made little opposition to
2 Ucheandia, Plan para convertir en Pueblos las Misiones, 1820-30, MS. 1.
The missions shall be converted into pueblos one by one as the territorial govt
may determine, in view of the reports of the missionaries and president, and
in conformity with the dip. In case the dip. opposes the views of the gefe,
the matter is to be referred to the sup. govt. 2. Beginning at once without
distinction as may be convenient with the 4 (7?) nearest the presidios, pueblos,
and villa; then following also without distinction with S. Buenaventura, S.
Juan Capistrano, S. Luis Obispo, and S. Antonio; then the rest in succession
— but the change is not to be effected the first year in more than two mis-
sions, in order to observe what is to be done later with the rest. 3. The ranchos
joined to each mission will continue to recognize it as head town, being ruled
by an auxiliary alcalde or by an ayuntamiento, as may seem best to the govt
in accordance with the laws. 4. The new ayunt. will recognize as head
town of the partido the presidio or pueblo recognized in their last elections
for diputados. 5. Farming and grazing lands, which by constant use down
to the date of swearing to independence or by approval of the ter. govt they
have cultivated and occupied with their property, are to remain the property
of these pueblos — which will be composed of their neophytes and of such
other Mexicans as may wish to settle in them according to the terms of
following articles on the distribution of lands: 6. To neophytes, including
those absent with leave, and to other servants of the mission wishing to re-
main, will be distributed by lot, to each family a house-lot 75 varas square
and a field 200 v. sq. — the lots in blocks of four, 150 v. sq. with suitable streets
and plazas. Some details respecting equitable division of lands with regard
to quality. 7. To each pueblo will be assigned an egido of 1 sq. league for
each 500 head of live-stock — of good grazing land near the settlement. 8.
Within 6 months of the publication of the change of any mission into a pue-
blo, there shall be given to each family 3 cows, 3 horses, 3 sheep, a yoke of
oxen, a mule or an ass; various implements named, both to families and for
common use; and they are also to receive for a year rations proportioned to
the preceding crop. 9. Other families, not neophytes or with leave of ab-
sence, will have lots and fields from those that remain. No one may pasture
in the egido over 50 cattle and 25 horses. 10. All property thus distributed
to be indivisible and inalienable for 5 years; neither can the settlers or their
heirs encumber this property with any mortgage, lien, etc. 11. The settlers
must be governed by the general, territorial, and local laws and regulations,
in like manner as at S. Jose and Los Angeles at the beginning, all paying
tithes of course. 12. Of similar purport, each individual to obey the laws
of Mex. andCal. 13. Details respecting later distribution of stallions, bulls,
etc. 14. Names of all individuals to be recorded with the distribution of
property. 15. The pueblos to keep the names of the missions, but the set-
tlers may propose any other name ' of laudable origin ' to the dip. and to con-
gress. 1G. The church and the rooms used for service and residence of the
chaplain or curate are to be those now occupied and such as may be built
later. The rest of the mission buildings will be devoted to uses of the ayunt. ,
prisons, barracks, schools, hospital, etc., and the present dwellings of the
neophytes will serve at present for the pueblo officials. 17. The live-stock
and other property remaining after the distribution will remain in charge of
an administrator subject to the inspection of the ayunt. and of the dip. Re-
maining lands, to the extent of 4 sq. leagues for 1,000 head of large stock, and
3 sq. leagues for small stock, to serve for the support of the flocks and herds;
and expenses of labor, etc., to be paid from the product of the capital. 18.
From the remainder of said capital, rent of surplus lands, yield of vineyards,
etc., will be paid the wages of a school-master, hospital expenses, and other
ECHE .INDIA'S PLAK 303
this plan in California, trusting rather to efforts in
Mexico, and especially to the change in national ad-
ministration, which was to furnish for the territory
a new governor and a new policy.
There had been no avowed intention on the part of
governor or diputacion to carry into practical effect
the provisions of the plan without the consent of the
superior authorities, and in forming the plan Echeanclia
had but obeyed after long delay his instructions from
Mexico. It became, however, more and more prob-
able as the months passed by that a new governor
would arrive in advance of the desired ratification;
hence a strong temptation to act without that ratifi-
cation. 3 In a letter written in 1833 Echeandia de-
fended his action substantially as follows. "At the
beginning of 1831 I found myself," by reason of im-
proved organization of territorial and municipal gov-
ernment, the aid of an asesor and ayudante inspector,
the separation of Baja California, and other favorable
circumstances, "in a condition to attend to mission
reforms. Knowing that Guadalupan missionaries
were coming, and that it was as important to prevent
their succession to the temporal administration as to
secure their succession to the spiritual; considering
that on account of continual wars in Mexico my plans
could not have received attention, and had perhaps
been lost on the way; having the presidial companies
institutions of asylum, correction, and instruction, deemed necessary. 19.
The curates will continue to receive, as the missionaries do now, $400 from
the pious fund; which will be increased to $700, $300, $900, or $1,000, ac-
cording to the size of the pueblo, from the product of the funds in charge of
the administrator. If these funds be insufficient, the sum may be made up
by a pro-rata tax on the funds of other pueblos; or in extreme cases by a con-
tribution in the interested pueblo. 20. The ter. govt, with approval of the
gen. govt, will provide in detail for whatever may seem best for the prog-
ress and well-being of each pueblo, acting provisionally as circumstances
may demand. 21. The missionaries may remain in charge of the spirit-
ual administration, receiving the allowance of art. 19; or they may go
to form new missions in the ranchos not to be converted into pueblos, or
at any other points in the interior. Leg. Bee., MS., i. 134-58; Guerra, Doc.,
MS., i. 5-14; Dcpt. Bee, MS., viii. 79.
8 The plan was favorably reported to congress by the minister. Mexico,
Mem. Relaciones, 1831, p. 33; Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., vii. 1; and it was
only Echeandia's later action that was disapproved.
304 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
to support on home resources; being in constant trou-
ble on account of the soldiers of the escoltas, often
favorites and servants of the padres and corrupters of
the neophytes; knowing well that to insure the integ-
rity of the nation and tranquillity and prosperity at
home, it was best to abolish once for all the oppression
of the neophytes by establishing a secular govern-
ment, since once converted from slaves to proprietors
they would become enthusiastic supporters of the fed-
eral system, a means of defence against foreign
schemes, and of support to the territorial government
and troops; desiring to release the missionaries for
the founding of new missions; therefore I proposed to
consolidate the security and good order of the terri-
tory by converting into free men and proprietors the
18, 000 forzados, indigentes reducidos in the old mis-
sions, in order to advance rapidly to the civilization
of the multitude of gentiles who also with their lands
belong to our nation, thus avoiding the necessity of
foreign colonization. Therefore I repeat, at the be-
ginning of 1831, all being ready for the regeneration
intrusted to me, and for which I had striven so hard,
mindful of the laws and of the benefits to result, tak-
ing advantage of the most fitting occasion to develop
the power of right by which was to be restrained the
colossal arbitrary power of the missionaries — I took
steps to put the neophytes under the civil authorities,
deeming this the fullest possible compliance with the
laws and superior orders." 4
The special pleading quoted, or condensed from the
author's original verbosity, was of course all beside
the true question at issue. The territorial govern-
ment, as Echeandia well knew, had no power to
secularize the missions. Nevertheless, a decree of
secularization was issued January 6, 1831. It was
an illegal and even revolutionary measure, devised by
4 Echeandia, Carta que dirige d Don Jos6 Figueroa, 1S33, MS., p. 44-50.
Though put in quotation-marks, what I have given is but a brief resume" of
the author's endless and complicated words and phrases.
DECREE OF JANUARY, 1S31. 303
Jose Maria Padres in supposed furtherance of his
own interests or radical theories, and those of a few
friends. I have already had something to say of this
golpe de estado. 5 Had it been accomplished some
months earlier, there might have been a plausible
hope on the part of Padres and his party for success;
but now when Victoria was already in California, it
was a most absurd and aimless scheme, unless indeed
it was intended to have the effect it did have; that is,
to drive Victoria to the commission of arbitrary acts
and thus lay the foundation for a revolution. The
results politically have been related.
The decree of January 6, 1831, was for the most
part in accordance with the plan of 1830. From the
original in my possession I form the appended re-
sume. 6 San Carlos and San Gabriel were to be organ-
5 See chap, vii., this vol. The views of Padr6s in this connection, already
■well known to the reader, are given at some length in Oslo, Hist. Cal., MS.,
155-64; Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 254-62; Alvarado, Hist. Cal, MS., ii.
160-1; Guerra, in Carrillo (J.), Doc, MS., 31-2; Robinson's Life in Cal., 97;
Figueroa, Manifesto, 2-3.
6 Echeandia, Decreto de Secularization de Misiones, 6 de Enero, 1831,
MS. Also in Dept. Rec., MS., ix. 65-77; Arch. Sta B., MS., ix. 435-70.
The document is signed at Monterey on Jan. 6th, by E. and, in the secre-
tary's absence, by Jose Maria Padres.
Preamble. — Whereas, 1. All Mexicans enjoy the rights granted by the
organic law except the mission Indians; 2. The law of Sept. 13, 1813, ex-
pressly provides that the missions bo formed into towns; 3. Grave evils will
result from the continued granting of licenses as heretofore; 4. The dip. — be-
ing convinced that the neophytes live in a state of discontent, that most of
the friars have declared themselves opposed to independence and the national
govt, and that the decay of the missions must follow — decreed in August
last in accord with my propositions the manner of distributing lands and
property; therefore I have deemed it proper to decree for the present as
follows: 1. S. Gabriel and S. Carlos are to be organized as towns, the latter
retaining the name of Carmelo. 2. At S. Gabriel 4 comisarios to be elected,
dependent on the ayunt. of Los Angeles until the population be determined,
and to be elected under the direction of a trustworthy person selected by
that ayunt. 3. Same at S. Carlos, dependent on ayunt. of Monterey. Elec-
tions to take place on 3d and 4th Sundays of Jan. ; officers to enter upon the
discharge of their duties on Feb. 1st. 4. The ranchos of each mission to con-
tinue subject to it, and to have a sub-comisario if the number of inhabitants
be considerable. 5, 6. Identical with art. 5, 6, of the plan of 1S30. 7. All
inhab. of the two missions 25 years old, or 18 years if married, are entitled
to grants of land in fee simple; but the lands cannot be subjected to entail or
mortmain. 8, 9, 10. Correspond with 8, 7, 12, of the plan. 11. Unmarried
neophytes of 25 years or more to have only half the house lot granted by art.
6; and to have a smaller share of live-stock, tools, etc., than the others.
12-17. Correspond in substance to art. 10, 14, 11-13, 16, 17, 18, of the plan.
18. An administrator is to bo appointed for each town; and for this purpose
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 20
306 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
ized at once into towns, the surplus property after
distribution to neophytes passing under the control of
secular administrators. A similar change was to be
effected at most of the other missions as rapidly as
the comisionados appointed to superintend the distri-
bution could attend to their duties. Suitable pro-
vision was made for the support of the ministers,
and for the education of Indian children.
Governor Victoria had arrived at Santa Barbara
on his way to assume the command, the transfer of
which Echeandia purposely delayed for the advance-
ment of the secularization scheme, and he took steps
to prevent the official publication of the bando of Jan-
uary 6th in the south. 7 His exact instructions from
heads of families are to choose three men to be named to the ayunt., which
body will forward the names to the gov. with a report on qualifications. 19.
The administrator to have charge of all property remaining after the distri-
bution, the same to be delivered to him by inventory. 20. The citizens in-
terested will appoint the necessary majordomos, who will be under the
administrator's direction. 21. They will also propose to the comisario the
proper salaries of administrator and majordomos, to be laid before the
ayunt. and gov. 22. Corresponds to art. 17-18 of plan. 23. The minister
will be allowed $1,000 at S. Gabriel and $600 at Carmelo, including the
sinodo of $400. 24. At S. F., S. Jose\ Sta Clara, S. Juan Bautista, Soledad,
S. Antonio, S. Miguel, Sta In6s, S. Buenaventura, S. Fernando, S. Juan
Capistrano, and S. Diego, comisarios, administrators, and majordomos will
be chosen as provided in art. 2-4, 18, 20; but in other respects they will con-
tinue under the community system until the comisionados for the distribu-
tion of lands, etc., shall have concluded their labors at S. Gabriel and S.
Carlos, when they will attend to these. 25. The ministers of these missions
will be furnished by the administrators with support and servants in addition
to their sinodos until a proper allowance for their spiritual services is deter-
mined on. 2(3. At Sta Cruz, S. Luis Obispo, Purisima, Sta Barbara, and S.
Luis Rey only comisarios and majordomos are to be chosen, the administra-
tion remaining for the present in the hands of the padres. 27. In the future,
for the purposes indicated, S. F. will belong to the port of the same name; S.
Jose and Sta Clara to the ayunt. of S. Jose"; Sta Cruz, S. Juan, Soledad, S.
Antonio, S. Miguel, and S. Luis Obispo to that of Monterey; Purisima, Sta
Ines, Sta Barbara, and S. Buenaventura to the comandancia of Sta Barbara;
S. Fernando and S. Juan Capistrano to the ayunt. of Los Angeles; and S.
Luis Rey and S. Diego to the comandancia of S. Diego. 28. With all pos-
sible haste a school is to be establised at S. Gabriel and at Carmelo, in which
reading, writing, and arithmetic will be taught as well as the best morals
and politics. 29. Each of the southern missions up to Sta Ines will send 4
clear-headed pupils over 18 years of age to the school at Monterey. 30.
Each of the northern missions will send 4 Indian pupils to Carmelo. 31.
The pupils to be chosen by the comisarios and administrators. 32. Teachers
to have $40 or $50 according to skill; and to have also $15 for each proficient
pupil produced in G months, or $5 for each at the end of a year. 33. Per-
sons deeming themselves competent to teach will make application to local
authorities.
7 Jan. 7, 1831, Guerra says the new mandarin expresses very sensible
ATTEMPT TO ENFORCE THE PLAN. 307
Mexico are not known, but the spirit of the -adminis-
tration which he represented was favorable to the
friars; and he understood perfectly not only the ille-
gality of Echeandia's act, but its motive and the influ-
ence of Padres in the matter. In the north the bando
was more or less fully published in January. The
document with the proper instructions and requests
was sent not only to local officials, but to the padre
prefect and bishop, who were urged to instruct and
prepare the friars for the change. 8 The ayuntamiento
of Monterey on the 8th chose a comisionado for each
of the seven missions of the district. 9 Jose Castro
and Juan B. Alvarado were sent to San Miguel and
San Luis Obispo respectively, where they read the
decree and made speeches to the assembled neophytes.
At San Luis, and probably at all the missions of the
district, the comisarios were elected; but at San Mi-
guel, after listening to the orators, the neophytes ex-
pressed a very decided preference for the padre and
views in regard to; the missions — that is, of course his views were favorable
to the padres. Carrillo {■/.), Doc, MS., 33. Jan. 14th, V. to E. Has just
seen 'by a lucky accident' the edict, which contains provisions entirely con-
trary to superior instructions and orders. He has taken steps to counteract
the evil results, but holds E. responsible if any occur. St. Pap., Miss, and
Colon., MS., ii. 35-G. Jan. 19th, V. to sup. govt, denouncing the decree a3
a scheme for plundering the missions, instigated by Padre's. It was published
at Monterey and probably at S. Francisco; but elsewhere it wa3 deemed too
risky. Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., viii. 8-10. Yet the decree was known in
the south; for on Jan. 21st, Com. Argiiello at S. Diego directs to the com.
gen. an argument against making the proposed change at S. Gabriel, chiefly
because the troops could not get along without the supplies furnished by
that mission. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 1-3. Echeandia in 1832 stated that
the devil had prompted Victoria to prevent the publication in the south and
afterwards to nullify the decree in the north, giving no reasons for such
shameful conduct! St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. Gl. On the general
fact of V.'s nullification of the decree, see TuthilVs Hist. Cal., 131; HallecJJs
Report, 125; Ord, Ocurreneias, MS., 38-9; Amador, Memorias, MS., 12G-8.
8 Jan. G, 1831, E. to bishop of Sonora. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS.,
lxxiii. 52. Same to prefect. Id., lxxi. 6-7; Dept. Iiec, MS., ix. 77. Same to
comandantes and ayuntaminentos. Id., viii. 136. Jan. 12th, same to Zamo-
rano, recommendations on distribution of land at S. Gabriel. Zamorano may
have been appointed comisionado for that mission. Id., ix. 78. Jan. 12th,
same to com. of Escoltas, who are to aid Alcalde Buelna in publishing the
decree, and to obey not the padres' orders but those of the comisarios, after
such have been chosen. Id., ix. 79.
9 Monterey, Adas del Ayuntamiento, 1S31-5, MS., 25. The comisionados
were Juan B. Alvarado for S. Luis Obispo, Jose Castro for S. Miguel, Antonio
Castro for S. Antonio, Tiburcio Castro for Soledad, Juan Higuera for S. Juan
Bautista, Sebastian llodriguez for Sta Cruz, and Manuel Crespo forS. Carlos.
308 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
the old system. 10 On account of Victoria's arri-
val the matter went no further than the election of
comisarios; nor is there any record that it went so
far in the districts of San Jose and San Francisco.
For the rest of 1831, during the exciting epoch of
the revolt against Victoria, there is little to be said of
mission history, and the project of secularization was
at a stand-still. There is a notable absence in the
archives of missionary correspondence for the year;
and the padres have thus evaded — whether to any
extent voluntarily or through accidental loss of pa-
pers I am not quite sure — a definite record of their
attitude in the quarrel that distracted the territory;
though there can be no doubt that their sympathies
were strongly in Victoria's favor. The bishop replied
in March, by stating briefly that he had no curates at
his disposal, and by requesting information upon all
that concerned the welfare of California. 11 It would
seem that even Victoria had some instructions not al-
together opposed to secularization, for in August
President Duran issued a .circular, in which he asked
of the padres, apparently by the governor's order,
their opinions of a scheme for emancipating the neo-
phytes and distributing the estates on a basis includ-
ing the maintenance of religious service, the support of
the padres, and the retention of community property
10 Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 3-5; Dept. Bee, MS., ix. 85. The Indians
said they respected the government and the decree, but by reason of their
poverty and ignorance they desired no change. Alvarado, Hist. Cat., MS.,
iii. 6-7, narrates his efforts at S. Miguel, where from a cart in the mission
courtyard he vividly pictured the advantages of freedom to the Indians; then
requested those who wished to remain under the padre to stand on the left
and those preferring freedom on the right. Nearly all went to the left at
first, where they were soon joined by the small minority who had not the
courage of their convictions. Alvarado says the Indians of S. Luis and
S. Antonio expressed the same views. Jan. 21st, E. to alcalde of Monterey.
The election of comisarios at S. Carlos was illegal and void; and a new one
must be held. Dept. Eec, MS., ix. 84. Jan. 25th, alcalde of Monterey to
Sebastian Rodriguez. Will introduce the new system (at Sta Cruz) after Feb.
1st. Monterey, Arch., MS., xvi. 9.
11 March 22, 1831, bishop at Fuerte to gov. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon.,
MS., ii. 58. Echeandia interpreted this as an acceptance of the change, but
says that later, when he heard of Victoria's acts, the bishop began to throw
obstacles in the way. Id., ii. 53.
DURAN'S COMMENTS. 309
to a certain amount with which to found new missions.
There are extant the replies of only three friars, two
of whom opposed and one approved the proposition. 12
At the end of December Duran prepared — probably
for use in Mexico, with a view to prevent a renewal of
Echeandia's original scheme, now that Victoria had
fallen — a series of commentaries on the decree of Jan-
uary. It was one of the ablest documents that was
ever written by a friar in California, but one which
cannot be presented en resume, and much too long for
literal reproduction. On the decree, article by article,
Padre Narciso expends the full force of his talent and
learning, with not infrequent volleys of wit, sarcasm,
ridicule, and bitter denunciation. Not a weak spot,
and there were many, is overlooked, and not a weapon
is neglected. In the paper there is much of sound ar-
gument, shrewd special pleading, evasion of real issues,
and Franciscan prejudice, but little misrepresentation
of facts. The standard position of all missionaries,
that the Indians were absolute owners of the soil and
all the mission property, but that they were still chil-
dren requiring parental control, and that the friars
alone were qualified to exercise that control, was pre-
sented over and over in a great variety of ingenious
forms. Echeandia's lack of authority to make the
changes was insisted on, as were many legal discrep-
12 The circular was dated Aug. 13th, and is not extant, its contents being
known only from the three replies. P. Juan Cabot writes from S. Miguel
Aug. 24th, that while he would be glad to be freed from his cares, he can see
no way of distributing the estates without producing ruin. The Indians of
his mission would have to be scattered at long distances in order to get a liv-
ing, and he could not be responsible for their spiritual care. P. Jos6 Sanchez
deemed the execution of the project probably inevitable, but sure to result, as
it was intended to, in total destruction to the missions. Taking into consid-
eration what had happened in Baja California and Sonora, he could see no
possibility of good results here. ' So far as it concerns me personally, ' he
writes, 'would that it might be to-morrow, that I might retire between the
four walls of a cell to weep over the time I have wasted in behalf of these
miserables!' P. Jose" Joaquin Jimenez of Sta Cruz wrote in October that in
view of the reasons urged by the government, and of the fact that the burden
was becoming insupportable to the friars, it would be wisest to free the In-
dians and distribute the property on the basis proposed; but also that the
Indians should be obliged to keep their share and to work. Arch. Sta B.,
MS., viii. 13-19.
810 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
ancies between the decree and the law of 1813 on
which it purported to rest, and strong points were
made by ridiculing the pretended desire to civilize and
educate the Indians in view of what the gente de razon
had accomplished in that direction for themselves.
In a note I give some brief quotations from Padre
Duran's epilogo.™
There was no trouble about the furnishing of sup-
plies in 1831. Naturally the padres were disposed to
do their best, and the only records in the matter are
one or two orders from Victoria to comandantes, in-
tended to prevent excessive demands on the mis-
sionaries. 14 At the beginning of the year, and probably
in consequence of the secularization movement, a
passport for Habana was tendered to Duran as soon as
a successor at San Jose could be procured. He ap-
parently had asked license to retire. 15 Three mission-
aries died at their posts, padres Boscana, Barona, and
Sufier, while no Franciscans came to fill up the de-
13 Duran, Notas y Comentarios al Bando de Echeandia sobre las Misiones,
183.1, MS. Dated Dec. 31, 1831. 'It would be better, with less bluster about
the Indians, to begin with the gente de razon. Let the latter begin to work,
to found establishments and schools, and to practise arts and industries ; then
will be time to lead the Indians to follow a good example. Are they, but yes-
terday savages, to go ahead and teach the way to civilized men ? To form
such projects of giving freedom to Indians after having taken a million dollars
of their hard earnings for the troops, and to leave in their endemic sloth the
others, who as a rule know nothing but to ride on horseback ? Truly, I know
not from what spirit can proceed such a policy, or rather I know too well.
"Why not write what all say ? Why say d medias palahras what all say d voca
llena? What all believe is that, under the specious pretext of this plan, there
was a secret plan for a general sack of the mission property, the leaders in the
plot intending to convert as much as possible of the booty into money, to be
enjoyed in foreign lands. But God willed that Victoria should arrive,' etc.
' The interested parties, including certain members of the diputacion, who
counted on the spoils, were disappointed, 'and their disappointment changed
into hatred for Victoria, whom they have never pardoned for having rescued
the prey which they deemed already within their clutches. ' Then follows an
account of the revolution down to Victoria's overthrow. I suppose a copy of
this document may have been carried to Mexico by P. Peyri, who accompanied
Victoria.
u Dept. Bee, MS., ix. 5; Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 6-7.
15 Dept. Bee., MS., ix. 86. Mofras, Explor., i. 272-3, tells us that in 1831,
P. Sanchez having died of grief at the invasions of the civil powers, most of
the other friars being subjected to indignities, determined to retire; and thus
these venerable men, who had devoted 30 or 40 years of their life to civilizing
Indians, were driven from a country 'qu'ils avaient arros^e de leurs sueura
et feconde'e par la parole apostolique,' taking nothing with them but a coarse
woollen robe — all of which is very pathetic and inaccurate.
EFFORTS OF CABIilLLO. 311
pleted ranks. Padres Jesus Maria Martinez and
Francisco Cuculla, Dominicans from Baja California,
seem however to have spent a considerable portion of
the year in the territory.
Meanwhile in the Mexican congress Carlos Carrillo
was exerting all his influence and eloquence in oppo-
sition to any change. He was a partisan of the friars,
and foresaw nothing but ruin in secularization. He
expressed his views at considerable length in letters
to Captain Guerra, which may be taken as copies for
the most part of his private and public arguments at
the capital. 16 A branch of the same subject, and one
of more urgent importance at the time than secular-
ization proper, was the disposition to be made of the
pious fund, a topic under discussion in congress. Th
e
estates of the fund had been for twenty years neg-
lected, and for the most part unproductive; the ques-
tion was how to make them again productive, and
how to apply the revenues. Hitherto the estates had
been administered in one way or another by the gov-
ernment; the revenues over and above the expenses of
administration had been constantly dwindling; and
for a long time no aid had been given to the missions.
Now it was proposed to dispose of the property, in
perpetuity or for a long period, by emphyteutic sale,
which of course would involve a great sacrifice of
actual value, and would yield a very slight revenue,
but which would put into the hands of the govern-
ment a large amount of ready money. The friends of
the missions favored a renting of the esta/tes on the
most advantageous terms possible for short periods,
and were assisted by many who cared nothing for the
missions, but were opposed to a wanton sacrifice of
property.
Don Carlos prepared an elaborate argument against
the proposed sale, and intrusted it to a fellow-mem-
16 Carrillo, Cartas del Diputado, MS., passim. Especially letter of April
25, 1831. p. 200-9. Oct. 19, 1831, the min. of justice and eccl. aff. replies to
the sindico of Cal. missions that the mission property cannot be regarded as be-
longing to the public treasury. S. Luis Ob., Arch., MS., 11.
812 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
ber to be delivered in the hall of congress ; but the
'gran picaro/ when he got the floor, made a speech
on the other side. 17 Fortunately, others took up the
defence of Carillo's views and gained a victory, tem-
porarily, over his opponents. Moreover, his argu-
ment, a strong presentment of the subject, under
date of September 15th, was made public in print. 13
The author said but little about religion, or justice to
Indians or friars. He admitted that the missions
were not accomplishing much for civilization, but he
considered the whole matter from the standpoint of
Mexican interests. He extolled California as a most
valuable possession, the occupation and retention of
which were due solely to the missionaries. Faulty as
the system might be, it had subdued Indians and
gained northern territory for Spain and Mexico.
During the troubles of the past tw T enty years, the
missions had not only been self-supporting, but had
contributed over half a million dollars to the sup-
port of the troops, besides offering the only encour-
agement to a growing and profitable commerce. In
other words, California had been supported and saved
for Mexico by the earnings of the Indians, under the
mission system. But for the missions the territory
to-clay would be in possession of savages or of a for-
eign power. Only by maintaining the missions, and
especially by founding new ones in the north, could
the country be saved from foreign aggression in the
near future. Moreover, this method involved no ex-
pense to the national treasury. A rich property ex-
isted which could be legitimately applied in this way
to national defence. The duty and policy of Mexico
were clearly to make that property as productive as
possible, and to apply the revenues solely to the sup-
port and extension of the California missions. 19 Don
17 Carrillo, Cartas del Diputado, 1831, MS., p. 214-15.
18 Carrillo, Exposition dirigida d la Cdmara. ..sobre Arreglo y Administration
del Fondo Piadoso. Mexico, 1831.
19 If there was any weakness in Carrillo's argument, it was in his exaggera-
tion of the unanimity of sentiment in Cal. in favor of the friars and his own
THEORIES OF 1832. 313
Carlos won the victory, for his propositions, attached
in thirteen articles to the exposition, were almost liter-
ally adopted in the law of May 25, 1832, 20 by which
the estates were to be rented for terms not exceeding
seven years, and the product was to be devoted ex-
clusively to the missions. True, the victory was a
barren one, for the missions derived little or no bene-
fit from it; but neither had they profited by the fund
in the past since the revolution against Spain began.
Nor could they under any system have got their dues
while the Mexican revolutionary troubles continued.
'21
Naturally little was done or even attempted in the
matter of secularization during the political and mili-
tary interregnum of 1832, yet some theorizing was in-
dulged in, which it is well to notice. The diputacion,
in addition to defending its past acts toward Victoria,
or rather as a part of that task, spoke very bitterly
against the friars in their reports of February and
May. By means of their wealth, it was charged, and
through the fanaticism of the people, the padres had
influence, and used it unscrupulously to disseminate
Spanish ideas, and plot against the federal system,
breaking the laws, corrupting officials, and making
themselves abhorred by intelligent citizens — that is,
by the writers and their friends. Some had fled to
Spain with gold and silver belonging to the missions.
Their commercial frauds were well known. Why
should they be allowed to profane our institutions,
and propagate among the young and ignorant their
sentiments in favor of Fernando VII. ? Why had not
the laws against them been enforced in California as
views, and in his fears of a revolution if this public sentiment should be dis-
regarded.
20 Arrillaga, Rccopilacion, 1832, p. 114-16; Fondo, Piadoso de Californias,
Ley y Reglamento. Mex., 1833. 12mo. 20 p. Gleeson, Hist. Gath. Church, ii.
130, says that the fathers were by this act deprived of $50,000 per year.
21 The padres entered into an agreement with Enrique Virmond to fur-
nish goods or money and take drafts on the govt to the amount of their sti-
pends; and this was approved by the govt May 9th, 12th. Espinosa to guardian
and to gov. Arch. St. B., MS., x. 271-2; Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., viii. 12.
314 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
elsewhere? By them the neophytes were cruelly
beaten, forced to work, treated as slaves, without
having obtained the slightest benefit from sixty years
of mission training. Truly Pico, Vallejo, and Osio
were becoming very radical republicans and ardent
patriots, according to the Mexican ideal. 22 However,
they were angry at the time, and were declaiming for
effect in Mexico, as was Carrillo in a more temperate
way at the capital.
Acting as comandante general in the south, accord-
ing to the terms of the treaty with Zamorano, Eche-
andia had the assurance to meditate the enforcement
of his decree by preparing on November 18th a. sup-
plementary reglamento, as if the events of the past
months had been but a mere temporary interruption
of his plans. The document, appended in a note,
23
22 Reports of Feb. 24 and May 15, 1832, in Leg. Rec, MS., i. 244-9, 265-6.
Alferez Jose" Sanchez about this time, as prosecuting officer in a criminal case,
made use of some very violent and sweeping denunciations of the friars
for their cruelty to the Indians. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxiii. 6-7.
In his circular of Nov. 18th, Echeandia represented the Indians as complain-
ing bitterly of their oppression by the padres. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon.,
MS., ii. 63-4.
23 Echeandia, Reglamento de Secularizacion, IS de Nov. 1832, MS. The
doc. was sent on Nov. 18th to Padre Sanchez, to each of the southern
missions, probably to local authorities in the south, and to Pres. Duran in
the north. On Jan. 13, 1833, it was sent to the min. of rel. in Mexico; and
on Feb. 7th, to Figueroa. The copy sent to F. is in my possession, and to it
are joined several responses from the friars. Reglamento. — Art. 1. Pursuant
to edict of Jan. 6th, after a record of population and property is made, the
property for pobladores is to be distributed to neophytes of ten years' stand-
ing, if married or widowers with minor children — except those who may wish
to continue in community, those incapacitated for work, and those who
neglect their families. 2. The distribution to be made at the mission or ran-
chos not far distant, and having a settled population, to such as reside there,
or were born there, and have the preceding qualifications. 3. The assign-
ment of egidos and distribution of community property, etc., that cannot be
effected at once will await the first opportunity. 4. All thus detaching
themselves from the community shall pay from their private property parish
dues according to their circumstances, and in due time tithes. 5. The heads
of families will choose from their own number the necessary alcaldes and po-
lice officers; and this govt will appoint a comisionado to direct and correct
them, and to do all that is conducive to the best Christian and civil order.
6. Other neophytes will continue to work in community; but this govt will
regulate all relating to their food, raiment, wages, labor, and punishments.
7. The community service will terminate as the neoyhytes may fulfil the con-
ditions proscribed for detachment, or as it is seen that the detached maintain
good order and progress in their town. 8. Out of the community property will
be paid tithes and parish dues, support of aged and sick, expenses of divine
worship, schools, jails, and others conducive to public welfare; and it is un-
THE GOVERNOR'S EFFORTS. 315
was intended to apply only to the four southernmost
missions. It did not go so far in some respects as
was provided by the decree of January, and intro-
duced some new features not authorized by that de-
cree. It was not apparently published in regular
form as a bando, but was rather submitted for approval
to the friars. It was prefaced with an argument on
the necessity of secularization under superior,, laws
and instructions, a statement of the enthusiasm with-
which the Indians had welcomed the author's efforts,
a presentment of their complaints of injustice and a
general discontent under the padres' management
which threatened serious consequences, a mention
of good results at San Juan Capistrano, where the
padres were said to have voluntarily given up the
temporalities, and a plea to the missionaries to accept
their duties as parish priests.
Padre Sanchez replied in a long series of critical
notes on both preface and reglamento. 2 * This crit-
icism is one to which it is impossible to do justice
derstood that at the proper time a part will be used for the foundation of new
missions among neighboring gentiles. In order to a beginning of regular ad-
ministration, the branch of vineyards will be separated at once so that all
labor in them may be done for wages, deducting expenses from the product.
9. The missionaries now in charge will be treated as parish priests and as de-
positaries of the community property, signing the account to be rendered an-
nually by the chief steward, who on recommendation of heads of families will
be appointed from their number by this govt. The curate is to have all paro-
chial dues besides his sinodo until the sup. authority may decide.
24 Sanchez, Notas al Iieglamento de Secularization, 1832, MS. The document
has no date. The concluding note is as follows: 'It seems to me that I have
given some convincing proofs, not perhaps of absurdities — I do not venture to
say that— but of inconvenientes as they appear to me at first reading. I do not
wish to engage in a prolonged dispute with Echeandia; let him do what may
seem best. I have expressed my views, not so much for him, as for an in-
struction to the padres that they are by no means to lend themselves to any
such cooperation as is demanded by that gentleman; since to do so would be
to subscribe to the ruin of their missions, and to the ignominy of all the in-
sults, suspicions, and distrust expressed in the plan, which were by no means
necessary if only the welfare of the Indians were sought. Let Sr Echeandia
then do what he pleases about the missions, but let him not count on the co-
operation of the padres, which he himself must know to be absurd. The mis-
sionaries will serve as such and in no other capacity, until the curia cclesias-
tica, in accord with the sup. govt communicating with us through our
prelate, may see fit to order a competent change — and so long as they are given
the necessary food to support life, which failing they have the natural and
divine right to shake off the dust of their shoes and go to other labors where-
ever they may be found. '
316 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION".
here, and to which may be applied much of what I
have said about Duran's notes on the original decree.
Sanchez, giving his attention chiefly to the preamble,
begins by suggesting that precepts on obedience to
law would come with better grace from one who had
given a better example than Echeandia. His pre-
tensions to teach the padres their obligations and rights,
or to change their status, are met with protest and
ridicule. If the laws and his instructions required
him to secularize the missions, why had he waited
six years, until the arrival of his successor, before
acting? If the Indians of the south, as was certainly
true, were assuming a threatening attitude, it was due
to the license they had enjoyed under Echeandia, and
to his unwise act in having put arms in their hands
against Zamorano, being thus a reason for a return to
the old restraint rather than for additional license.
As to the enthusiasm of the Indians for Echeandia,
the padre has little to say beyond reminding him that
there are several ways of winning popularity among
school-boys, one of the most successful being to let
them do as they please. Of course he dwells on the
theory that the Indians were children and 'savages
of yesterday;' and of course he fails to recognize the
fact that this theory in itself was a condemnation of
the mission system in all but missionary eyes. In the
reglamento itself the padre easily found no end of
faults and inconsistencies; yet in one of his notes he
expressed a degree of favor for an experimental eman-
cipation and distribution of property at a few of the
oldest missions. President Duran also issued at his
mission of San Jose a series of notes so similar in argu-
ment and expression to those of Sanchez as to require
no further notice. 25 The answers from the padres of
San Diego, San Luis, and San Juan, that from San
Gabriel not being extant, were to the effect that they
left the matter entirely with the prelate. Martin
25 Duran, Notas d una Circular 6 Bando intlmado por El Sr D. Jose Maria
Echeandia d las cuatro Misiones. 1S3J, MS. 20 p. Original.
FATHERS BACHELOT AND SHORT. 317
said that since May 20th the neophytes at San Diego
had managed temporal affairs for themselves — except
the wine-cellars. Anzar said he was a Mexican, and
would cheerfully cooperate with the governor if per-
mitted. Zalvidea would be glad personally to be re-
lieved of the burden. He had toiled over twenty years
and had not saved a medio real. 26 There is no record
that Echeandia took any further steps before the end
of 1832.
Padre Antonio Peyri left California at the begin-
ning of the year with Victoria; and Padre Antonio
Menendez, a Dominican who for some six years had
served as chaplain at different places, died in August.
There may be noted here also as an interesting item,
the arrival of two priests who remained about five
years in the country. They were Jean Alexis Au-
guste Bachelot, apostolic prefect of the Sandwich
Islands, and Patrick Short. The two, with a com-
panion, had arrived at the Islands in July 1827 from
Prance, to establish Catholic missions; but prejudice
was aroused against their teachings, largely, it is be-
lieved, through the intrigues of protestant mission-
aries, and in December 1831 they were banished,
"because their doings are different from ours, and be-
cause we cannot agree," as King Kaahuamanu stated
it. They sailed on the Waverly, Sumner, master,
which landed them at San Pedro on January 21, 1832,
whence they were taken to San Gabriel and kindly
treated. There is not much to be said of their stay
in California. Bachelot remained at San Gabriel as
assistant minister, his name appearing often in the
mission registers. Short soon came north, and he
was engaged with Hartnell in an educational enter-
prise at Monterey in 1834. An order came from
Mexico to expel them as Jesuits and as having no
papers; but the governor did not enforce it. In 1837,
however, although the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles
2G Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 25, copies of the letters attached to the regla-
mento.
318 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
made an effort to retain him as curate, Bachelot, ac-
companied by Short, sailed on the Clementina, and
landed at the Islands in April. Persecutions were
renewed, from which they were relieved by the French
and English navigators Petit-Thouars and Belcher.
Short sailed in October for Valparaiso, and Bachelot
soon departed for the South Sea Islands, dying on
the voyage in 1838. 27
With Governor Figueroa, at the beginning of 1833,
there came to California a missionary reenforcement
of ten friars. They were Franciscans, all Mexicans
by birth, and belonged to the college of Nuestra
Senora de Guadalupe cle Zacatecas, being called
Guadalupanos, or more commonly, Zacatecanos, as the
earlier friars had been known as Fernandinos from
the name of their college. Immediately after their
arrival, that is in February, they were put in charge
of the seven missions from San Carlos northward,
their prefect, Francisco Garcia Diego, going to reside
at Santa Clara. The fernandinos of these missions
retired to the southern establishments. 28
27 See full and interesting accounts in Petit-Thouars, Voy., ii. 325-48; lion.
Polynesian, ii. 31, 81, from N. Amer. Review, Oct. 1840. I have obtained
much information from an obituary of Bachelot and a collection of documents
published by Capt. Sumner in his own defence against the charge of cruelty
to the priests en voyage, in Honolulu, 8. Tsl. Gazette, Oct. 6, Nov. 29, 1838.
Autograph letter of P. Short, Mar. 19, 1834. S. Antonio, Doc. Sueltos, MS.,
118. Corresp. on the order of expulsion from California. Dept. St. Pap.,
Aug., MS., xi. 16, 34. Los Angeles, Arch., MS., iv. 269. Bachelot's services
desired as curate. Id., iv. 289. Short at Pur isima March 1837. Vallejo, Doc,
MS., xxxii. 77. Proposition to found a school at Monterey — mentioned also
by several Californians. Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 131-2; Vallejo, Doc, MS.,
xxxi. 9. Short at S. Gabriel on April 16, 1832. Bachelot on various dates
from 1832-7. S. Gabriel, Lib. Mision, MS., 16, 39, 59. Short at S. Juan
Oct. 1832, and called a member of the ' Sacred Congregation of the Perpetual
Worship of the Most Holy Sacrament.' S. Juan B., Lib. Mision, MS., 15.
Arrival at Honolulu Apr. 17th; and departure of Short Oct. 30th. Hon., S.
I. Gazette, Apr. 22, 1837; Peirce's Bough SL, MS., 2. Robinson, Life in Cal,
122, and Mofras, Explor., i. 294—5, mention the arrival of the French priests.
Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 191-3, tells us that Pres. Duran made their
arrival an excuse to call for contributions for the cause of propaganda fide in
China and Japan, and that $2,000 were collected.
28 The new-comers were Francisco Garcia Diego, prefect, who went to Sta
Clara, succeeding Viader, who left Cal. ; Jos6 Maria de Jesus Gonzalez Rubio,
S. Jose, succeeding Duran who went to Sta Barbara; Jos6 Maria de Jesus
Gutierrez, Solano, in place of Fortuni, who went to S. Luis Rey; Rafael de
THE ZACATECANOS. 319
Considering the importance of the subject, there is
a remarkable absence of original records respecting
the coming of the Zacatecanos and the division of the
missions ; though it cannot be doubted that much was
written at the time which is no longer extant, as is
the case respecting many important topics of mission
history during these last years. It will be remembered
that in 1817 the southern missions were ceded by the
college of San Fernando to that of Orizaba; but on
account of troubles in Mexico and of the dissatisfac-
tion of Californian friars — who were, however, willing
to give up the northern, deemed the poorest estab-
lishments — the change was not consummated. 29 The
necessity for a reinforcement continued more and
more urgent, and San Fernando was in a state of
disorganization so complete that it could do nothing
of itself; but of the negotiations of that college with
others I know nothing until letters of 1832 announced
from Tepic that the Zacatecanos were coining. 30 The
cession of the northern missions was evidently agreed
upon in Mexico; but there is nothing to show to
Jesus Moreno, with Garcia Diego at Sta Clara; Jose" Lorenzo de la Concep-
cion Quijas, S. Francisco, succeeding Estdnega, who went to S. Gabriel, but
soon Q. was transferred to Solano; Antonio Suarez del Real, who succeeded
Jimcno at Sta Cruz, the latter going to Sta Inds; Jose Maria del Refugio
Sr.grado Suarez del Real, brother of Antonio, at S. Carlos, freeing Abella for
the ministry of S. Luis Obispo; Jesus Maria Vasquez del Mercado, S. Rafael,
in place of Amoros, who had died the year before; Jose" Bernardino Perez,
who served for a time as secretary to Prefect Garcia Diego; and finally, Fran-
cisco de Jesus Sanchez, of whom we know nothing in Cal. for 8 or 9 j^ears,
and who possibly was left in Baja California to arrive later. The preceding
is derived from the registers of the different missions, showing merely the
presence of a padre at a mission on a given date; for there is no record of the
assignments and transfers, with a single exception, that of Gonzalez to S.
Jose" on Feb. 13th. Corresp. de Misiones, MS., 39-41.
29 See vol. ii. p. 407, of this work.
30 Jan. 24, 1831, Martiarena at Tepic says to Capt. Guerra, in announcing
his appointment as sindico, that Fr. Bernardino Pacheco is going to Cal. as a
friar of S. Fernando college, which ' according to the agreement is to furnish
10 friars and the college of Zacatecas 1 1 ; the latter will be able to comply,
but not the former, which has not more than 7 friars.' Guerra, Doc., MS., vi.
130. April 21, 1832, Carlos Carrillo, in Mex., says 10 friars from Zacatecas
are going, as he is told by the min. of cccl. aff. and by the guardian, who have
had great difficulty in obtaining so many. At S. Fernando there are only 4.
Id., iv. 242-3. July 18th, Martiarena says the 10 friars are at Tepic and are to
sail on the Catallnu, to take charge of the ceded northern missions. Id. t
vi. 129.
320 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION. -
what extent the Fernandinos in California knew or
approved what was being done. Beyond the presence
of the ten in Baja California, at the time Figueroa's
soldiers revolted, 31 there is no account of their journey,
no official record of their arrival, and no list of their
names. President Duran in a circular to the padres,
January 23d, devoted to several general matters, but
especially to the urgent calls of the college for aid,
alluded to the cession as a matter in which he should
lose no time, having already permitted the Zacatecan
prelate to station his friars so as to learn the routine
and prepare for a formal delivery of the missions.
He hoped the change would enable some of their
number to go to the relief of the mother college, and
declared that no one might hope for a license from him
to retire to any other destination. 32 In assigning his
padres to their different stations on and about Feb-
ruary 13th, Prefect Garcia Diego used the follow-
ing formula: "Inasmuch as the supreme govern-
ment of the Mexican republic has intrusted to our
college some of the missions of Alta California,
which hitherto the worthy sons of the college of San
Fernando have administered with such honor; and it
having been agreed between the venerable discretories
of both colleges that there should be delivered to us
the missions of the north as appears from orders
which I have shown to the Very Rev. Padre Pres-
ident Fr. Narciso Duran; therefore," etc. 33 Soon
a concordat funeral was concluded between the two
bands of missionaries, by which each agreed to say
twenty masses for the soul of any member of the
other band who might die ; and thus the new order of
things was permanently established. 34
* l Dcpt. St. Pap., Ben. Cust.-H.,M8., i. 35.
32 Duran, Cordillera d los Padres en Enero de 1833, MS.
33 This in the appointment of Gonzalez to S. Jose\ Corresp. de Misioms^
MS., 39-41. Garcia assumed formal charge of Sta Clara on March Cth. Sta
Clara, Paroquia, MS., ID.
31 S.Jose, Patentee, MS., 190-1; Coroncl, Doc., MS., 11-12; Arch. Obis-
pado, MS., 52. General mention of the transfer in Moj'ras, Explor., i. 274,
who states that the division was made in Cal. to avoid disputes, the old
TROUBLES OF THE NEW FRIARS. 321
The Zacatecanos were as a class by no means equal
morally or intellectually to their predecessors, as will
be apparent from their actions in later years; and be-
sides this inferiority, there were naturally many diffi-
culties to be encountered by them at the first, arising
from their inexperience and a certain degree of pre-
judice felt against them by neophytes and others. It
did not take them long to learn that their lines had
not fallen to them in places altogether pleasant; and
in September we find their prefect begging for a cer-
tificate of the miserably sad condition in which he
and his associates found themselves, for exhibition to
the government on returning to his college; for "we
cannot subsist here longer, because the climate is de-
stroying our health." 35
Their troubles in 1833, to say nothing of the cli-
mate, were of a threefold nature, arising from the
unmanageable character of the neophytes, from the
difficulty of furnishing supplies to the presidio, and
from Padre Mercado's conduct at San Rafael. The
Indians did not behave in a manner at all satisfactory
to their new masters, who resorted freely to the use
of the lash. Vallejo, comandante of the San Fran-
cisco district, made complaint to Figueroa on the sub-
ject, and the latter to Prefect Garcia Diego, with a
notification that flogging was forbidden by the laws.
The prefect seems to have made an earnest effort to
remedy the evil ; and though some of the padres were
disposed to be obstinate, no special complaint is re-
corded after the issuance of a pastoral letter on the
subject on the 4th of July. 36
Spanish friars not being able to tolerate the lax morals of the Mexicans.
Alvarado, Hist. Cat., MS., ii. 205, 209-10, says the Zacatecanos wanted all
the missions; but the Fcrnandinos refused, and finally succeeded in convincing
the stupid Mexicans that, as there were 21 missions and only 10 friars, a
division was necessary! Wilkes, Narrative, v. 173, states that the new
friars were in every way inferior to the old ones, and totally unfit for mission-
aries. Vallejo, Hist. Col., MS., ii. 197-8; Robinson's Statement, MS., 8; Ord,
Ocnrrencias, MS., 55-6.
30 Sept. 5, 1833, Garcia Diego to Figueroa. Arch. Azob., MS., v. pt i. 41.
30 May 5th, 31st, Vallejo to Figueroa. Vallejo, Dor., MS., ii. 41, 52. The
complaint is of flogging at the 4 missions, nothing being said of S. Jose.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 21
322 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION. .
Throughout the year at frequent intervals Vallejo
complained that the soldiers of his company at San
Francisco were in great destitution, and that the mis-
sions did not furnish sufficient food for the garrison,
or even for the escoltas. He gave many details of
the privations endured and of his personal efforts to
obtain relief, and he expressed rather freely the belief
that the Fernandinos would not have permitted the
soldiers to suffer so. 37 The complaints were forwarded
by Figueroa to the prefect, who professed the best
possible intentions, but pleaded poverty, and could not
understand " why Don Guadalupe was making so much
trouble about the matter." Figueroa issued an order
December 1st, fixing the yearly amount of supplies to
be furnished by the missions of Monterey and San
Francisco jurisdictions, including live-stock with which
to replenish the national ranchos. 33
Vallejo was also prominently concerned as complain-
Vallejo had an interview with the minister of S. Francisco, who said 'it would
not be expedient at any time to discontinue flogging the Indians; for his part
he would perpetuate this paternal correctional mode of punishment so fitting
for that class of people. If he were forced to act otherwise, he knew the
road by which he had come, ' that is, he would leave the country. On being
shown the law he replied, ' Lashes, lashes, and more lashes for these people
so devoid of honor !' Vallejo admitted that at Sta Clara, Garcia Diego had
good intentions, yet he allowed the majordomo, Alviso, to flog. May 13th,
June 14th, F. to Garcia Diego. Id., ii. 142, 153; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i.
80. June 16th, P. Gutierrez toF., claiming that the Indians, having no
shame or honor, could be controlled only by fear; and that the law was in-
tended for more advanced people in Mexico. Dept. St. Pap., Ben., MS., ii.
12-14. June 30th, Garcia Diego to F. Id. , ii. 15; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt
i. 80-1. He declares his intention to abolish flogging. 'Mi genio, mis ideas,
mi sensibilidad, todo junto se opone a" esta costumbre que jamas aprobareV
Yet he has to work slowly. July 4th, Garcia Diego, Carta Pastoral d los pa-
dres Zacatecanos contra la costumbre de azotar d los indios, 1833, MS.
37 Letters of V. and F. Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 15, 45, 47, 99-101, 107, 110,
128, 148, 152, 179. Feb. 21st, F. toG. D. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxxix.
4. Apr. 15th, G. D. to F., explaining his difficulties, the poverty of the mis-
sions, his efforts, and hopes of better success. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS.,
ii. 308-9. May 25th, June 15th, same to same. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i.
77-8.
36 Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxiv. 47-8; Id., Ben. Cust.-H., MS., ii.
78-81. The requisition was for 1,458 fanegas of wheat, 318 fan. beans, 936
arrobas of lard, 50 cargas of flour, $1,632 worth of soap, 834 pairs of shoe 5 ?,
139 blankets, 80 shields, 80 cueras, 80 cananas, 80 musket-cases, 8 saddles,
200 broken horses, 34 pack-mules, 1,690 cows and heifers, 810 steers and bulls,
200 mares and foals. 20 oxen, 20 ploughshares, 12 axes, shovels, hoes, pickaxes,
crowbars, 4 adzes, chisels, saws. To be contributed pro rata. The cattle for
the ranchos were to be a loan to be repaid in 6 years.
PADRE MERCADO'S MISCONDUCT. 323
ant in the troubles with Padre Mercado at San Pafael.
In May a controversy arose on the subject of mission
discipline, the padre demanding the surrender of an
offender arrested by the corporal of the escolta, who
refused, by Vallejo's order, as he claimed. Mercado
in an arrogant and threatening manner defended his
authority to punish the neophytes as he pleased, while
the comandante, though ordering the neophyte in this
case given up, denied the padre's right to interfere in
any but minor offences. 39 In August, Corporal Igna-
cio Pacheco of the escolta, asking for meat for his
men, was told by Mercado that "he did not furnish
meat to feed wolves," whereupon Pacheco caused a
sheep of the mission flock to be killed, and the padre
was furious. In the resulting correspondence Mercado
used very intemperate and insulting language both to
Vallejo and to the soldiers, whom he repeatedly des-
ignated as a pack of thieves. In turn he was charged
by Vallejo with falsehood. 40 Finally on November
16th a body of gentiles belonging to the rancherias of
Pulia approached San Rafael, as they had been en-
couraged to do by Figueroa through Vallejo, with a
view to encourage friendly relations. Fifteen Indians
of the party came under Toribio to speak with the pa-
dre, who put off the interview until next day. Dur-
ing the night a robbery was committed, which was at-
tributed by Mercado to the guests, and they were
therefore seized and sent as prisoners to San Francisco.
On the morning of the 20th, the warlike missionary,
fearing as he claimed that the gentiles would attack
the mission to liberate their companions, sent out
his majordomo Molina with thirty-seven armed neo-
phytes, who surprised the strangers, killed twenty-
one, wounded many more, and captured twenty men,
39 Letter of Vallejo May 9th, and of Mercado May 9th, 17th, in Vallejo,
Doc, MS., ii. 43, 141, 149.
40 Letters of Pacheco and Mercado Aug. 22d, and of Vallejo Aug. 23d,
Oct. 18th, in Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 84, 110, 1G7-8. Vallejo advises Pacheco
to act very carefully, to avoid all disputes, and to take no supplies without
politely asking the missionary first.
324 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
women, and children, having on their side five
wounded, one of the number mortally. This achieve-
ment was coolly reported by Mercado to Figueroa in
a letter of the 25th, with a request for reinforcements
to aid in pacifying the rancherias. The governor
was naturally indignant that his promises to the
Indians had been thus shamefully violated, and with
the advice of Asesor Gomez, sent the case to Pre-
fect Garcia Diego, the competent ecclesiastical judge.
The prefect suspended Mercado from his ministry,
summoned him to Santa Clara, and announced his
intention to send him to his college for trial. Mean-
while Vallejo, by Figueroa's orders, liberated Toribio
and his companions at San Francisco; went to San
Rafael with a military force and freed the captives
there; and then made a tour through the rancherias
to Solano, pacifying the excited Indians, and ex-
plaining to them Figueroa's kind intentions and the
wickedness of Padre Mercado, dilating on the latter
topic very reluctantly — perhaps. In the middle of
the next year, Mercado was freed from arrest and re-
stored to San Rafael, two friars having been sent to
make an investigation, and having learned from four-
teen witnesses that the padre had nothing to do with
the outrage! 41
Returning to the topic of secularization, or to
progress in that direction during 1833, I have first to
notice Figueroa's instructions on this point from the
Mexican government — instructions that emanated
from the same administration which had appointed Vic-
toria, and similar in spirit probably to those given that
officer, and certainly to those under which Echeandia
41 Mercado, Expediente de papeles tocantes d la matanza de Indios hecha por
drdcndel P. Mhiistro de S. Rafael, 1S33, MS., in Monterey, Arch., i. 32-7;
Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 200; xxxi. 58; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt ii. 3; Dept.
St. Pap., MS., iii. 137-8; Id. , Ben., ii. 9-10; being communications of Mer-
cado, Figueroa, Vallejo, Gomez, Sanchez, and Garcia Diego, some of them
duplicated in the different archives referred to. The affair is also briefly
mentioned in Vallejo, Hid. Col., MS., iii. 74-5; Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS.,
ii. 211.
FIGUEROA'S POLICY. 325
had acted. The necessity for a change was recognized,
and the duty of the new ruler, as of his predecessors,
was to ascertain and report the best practical methods.
Minister Alaman disapproved in the vice-president's
name Echeandia's decree of 1831: both because he
had gone far beyond his authority in issuing such a
decree, and because some of its provisions were not
in accord, as pointed out, with the law of 1813, on
which it purported to be founded; and he ordered
Figueroa, if Echeandia's order had to any extent been
obeyed, to restore the missions to the position they
held before its publication. Yet he was to study the
question closely, to ascertain what missions were in a
condition to be secularized according to the law of
1813, and to report such a plan as he might deem
most expedient. 42
Figueroa's general instructions from Minister Ortiz
Monasterio, also bearing the date of May 17th, au-
thorized him to go practically much further toward
secularization than did the document just mentioned.
Article 4 was as follows: "It being a matter of the
greatest necessity that the neophytes rise from the
state of abasement to which they find themselves re-
duced, you will cause to be distributed to such as are
fitted for it such fields of the mission lands as they
may be capable of cultivating, in order that they may
thus become fond of labor and may go on acquiring
property ; but there must be kept undistributed the
lands necessary for the support of divine worship,
schools, and other objects of common utility. By
this means, for the mission system may be gradually
42 May 17, 1832, Alaman to F., in St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 33-
5; Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pti. 102-6. Carlos Carrillo wrote from Mex. in 1S32
that no change would at present be made in the mission system. Carrillo,
Cartas, MS., 231. As an evidence of F.'s feeling on the mission system, I
cite a recommendation in favor of a neophyte of S. Juan Capistrano, directed
to Echeandia in 1 820, from Sonora, in which he doubts not that E. ' will
protect those unfortunates who from necessity have to bear all the rigor of
those friars.' Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lvii. 21. F., in his Manijicsfo,
2-3, notes his instructions, or their general purport. July 7, 1832, from Aca-
pulco he promises the min. of rel. to obey his instructions on arrival. St. Pap.,
Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 30-7.
326 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION. ■
substituted another more adapted to the interests of
the territory, the influence of the missionaries may be
lessened until they retain only the spiritual adminis-
tration, and tli us in fact the missions may be secular-
ized. Yet for all this, it is necessary to act with
prudence and tact, so as to cause no discontent among
the missionaries, with whom care is to be taken to
preserve the greatest harmony; and to that end are
enclosed private letters written by the vice-president
to some of the most influential friars." 43
Before Figueroa's arrival in the middle of January
1833, I find no record that Echeandia had taken any
steps to carr}^ into effect his regulations beyond the
appointment of comisionados; 44 but on January 29th,
possibly before he knew of Figueroa's arrival, he issued
a new regulation for officers of justice and police in
the missions of San Dieo-o district. The order dealt
chiefly with the penalties for various minor offences and
the routine duties of the local officers who were to
inflict them. It was probably never enforced, and
requires only a mention, with the remark that it was
intended to relieve the Indians from arbitrary and
excessive punishments. 45 Echeandia informed Figue-
roa that he had been about to commence the distri-
bution of lands at San Diego, but had suspended
operations on hearing of the new governor's arrival.
In the same communication he denounced the policy
and acts of the friars, and urged Figueroa to adopt
43 Figueroa, Instrucciones Generates, MS., p. 33-4. In art. 5, Indian youths
are required to be selected and sent to Mexico for education, with a view to
make ministers of them later.
41 These were Capt. Portilla at S. Luis Rey, Alf. Ramirez at S. Diego, Alf.
Rocha at S. Juan Capistrano, and Alf. Valle at S. Gabriel. Dcpt. St. Pap.,
MS., iii. 87,89. Feb. 10th, the comandante of S. Luis calls for reenforce-
ments to check disorders among the Indians arising from the distribution of
land 3. /'/., Ben. Pre/, y Juzg., v. 76.
1 ' Echeandia, Reglamento para los encargados dejusticia y policia en lasmis-
iones del departamento de S. Diego, 1833, MS. An annexed note says: 'This
regulation was ordered to be observed to restrain the arbitrary way in which
missionaries, majordomos, and corporals of escolta caused the neophytes to be
Hogged, imprisoned, and outraged in other ways for any fault in the commu-
nity labors or in other precepts which they were tyranically forced to observe.
Echeandia.'
PROTECTION OF THE INDIANS. 327
strict measures in favor of the Indians. 46 Finally,
on March 19th, Echeandia directed to Figueroa the
long letter, already often cited, in which he fully
reported and defended his past policy. In this com-
munication, besides the arguments already noticed, he
attempted, in a manner satisfactory to himself, to
overthrow the reasoning of Minister Alaman against
his famous decree, and he also proposed a scheme of
converting gentiles on the frontiers, through the
agency of old neophytes and military guards. 47
Meanwhile Figueroa prepared to make the investi-
gations required by his instructions. His views were
for the most part identical with those of Echeandia,
but he had of course to encounter the same obstacles
which had prevented that officer during the earlier
years of his rule from carrying out his instructions.
He announced February 18th to Echeandia his policy
and his general approval of the latter's views, stating
that he hoped to begin the distribution of lands at
San Diego in April. This was to be made known to
the Indians, who were to be informed of the gov-
ernor's purpose to protect their liberties but at the
same time to allow no license. 4 * After some delay on
account of illness, Figueroa went south at the end of
46 Feb. 7, 1833, E. to F., in Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 25, enclosing docu-
ments to prove the abuses committed by the friars of the south, and the
malicious exaggeration of all they say against the proposed reforms. Each
padre does as he pleases, on the excuse that to do otherwise he must have his
prelate's orders, which are not given. The prelate is Duran, a Spaniard and
pronounced royalist, only saved from expulsion by his intimate friendship
with Victoria. The gente de razon pay no parochial tax, are entertained
gratis by the friars, and receive loans and gifts from the missions; therefore
the magistrate who attempts to protect the Indians is a shining mark for
popular attack. Still he has been regaining little by little the civil authority
uaurped by the friars, and urges Figueroa to continue the same policy. On
the same date were sent the complaints of a S. Diego Indian, Tomas Tajachi,
against Argiiello particularly, whom Echeandia thought it best to replace with
some officer less obnoxious to the Indians. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 74-6,
107-9.
• 7 Echeandia, Carta que dirtge d D. Jos6 Figueroa, 1S33, MS., p. 38-41,
5G-7.
48 Feb. 18, 1833, F. to E., and also to Santiago Argiiello. Vallejo, Doc,
MS., xxxi. 26-7. F. evidently feared a revolt of the Indians. Feb. 10th,
J. A. Carrillo writes that he has complied with orders as to sustaining the
gov. 's authority; and will go to S. Gabriel with the si'ndico of the ayunt. to
harangue the Ind. and tranquillize them. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 76.
328 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
June. The result of his investigations was to convince
him that any general measure of secularization would
be ruinous, and that a change of system, though
necessary, must be very gradually effected. So he
reported to the Mexican government, and to Presi-
dent Duran and Prefect Garcia Diego in July. 49 To
the secretary of the interior he described the charac-
ter and circumstances of the neophytes, representing
them as totally unfit by nature ond training for sud-
den emancipation. To the prelates he stated that
the partition of lands at San Diego would be only
partial and provisional, though insisting that all quali-
fied neophytes must be freed from missionary control,
and calling for their views on the general subject.
He also issued a series of regulations on gradual
emancipation, to go into effect provisionally until ap-
proved by the diputacion and by the supreme govern-
ment. 50
49 July 15, 1833, F. to Duran; July 20th, to sec. of int.; July 27th, to
Garcia Diego. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 27, 33, 29. F. describes the neo-
phytes as children, with a natural predilection for the customs of their ances-
tors, and for a savage life without work. During their reduction they had
learned, perforce, only to cultivate the soil imperfectly, to practise some
rude industries, and to manage horses, besides receiving a slight and super-
ficial religious instruction. They had been kept intentionally in the most
abject ignorance, the padres having always opposed their education. If freed
at once from their degrading servitude, they would soon from proprietors
become beggars, having bartered their possessions for liquor and gewgaws.
They would return to the wilderness and join tire wild Indians in stealing
cattle and horses for sale to New Mexicans and foreigners.
o0 Fiyueroa, Prevenclones provisionales para la emancipation de Indios redu-
cidos, 15 de Julio, 1833, MS.
1. The gefe politico will determine the number to be emancipated in each
mission and the time at which it is to be done, appointing the comisionados
deemed necessary to carry out these preventiones. 2. Those emancipated will
be those who have been more than 12 years Christians, married or widowers
with children, knowing how to cultivate the soil or having some trade, and
having 'application to work.' The selection is to be made by the comisiona-
dos in conjunction with the ministers of each mission. 3. The emancipated
are to remain subordinate to the respective authorities, and to the padres of
the mission who will exercise over them the functions of parish priest in all
that concerns the spiritual administration. 4. The emancipated will receive
seed for their first sowing, and for a year the customary mission rations; but
during that time they must assist the mission during planting and harvest,
and at other times as they may be summoned — not all at a time— by the min-
ister and the alcalde acting in concert and so arranging the tasks that neither
the mission work nor that of private individuals shall suffer. 5. The com-
isionados in accord with tlie ministers will select a fitting spot as near the
coast as possible, and between the missions on the high road, where the
REGULATIONS OF 1833. 329
Shortly before the prevenciones de emancvpacion
were issued, President Duran had written to Figueroa
a strong letter on the subject, basing his opposition
to emancipation on the state of things which he had
found to exist at Los Angeles, and by which he
claimed to have been undeceived and surprised. The
emancipated may form a pueblo if there be a sufficient number of families.
There they will be given lots of a size corresponding to the amount of land
at the place, where they may build their houses so as to form streets and
plaza symmetrically as provided by ancient and modern laws. Lands will
likewise be assigned for cjjidos of the pueblo. 6. The newly founded pueblos —
according to decree of May 23, 1812 — will remain for the present attached to
the nearest municipality or military command, which, in accordance with laws
and regulations in force and with these prevencionex, will care for the police,
embellishment, order, and other objects of economical government in the
pueblos intrusted to their care. 7. As the emancipated cease to be minors
and enter upon the enjoyment of citizens' rights, the authorities will see that
they are considered on terms of equality with others in elections and hold
municipal offices according to fitness and good conduct. Still in order that
they may be accustomed and taught to govern according to the federal sys-
tem, there are to be appointed annually from their number an alcalde, 2 regi-
dores, and a sindico procurador, to be intrusted with the economical govern-
ment of their pueblo, but to remain subject in the administration of justice,
civil and criminal, to the judges of first instance and other superior tribunals.
8. They must immediately build houses in regular order on their lots, which
they must enclose with fruit trees or other useful trees. 9. The minister and
comisionado will assign the best land nearest the pueblo, where there will be
given to'each family a field, and to the pueblo grazing lands and 2 caballcrias
of land for propios, all in the name of the Mexican nation. 10. Fields to be
200 varas square, and common grazing lands in proportion to the amount of
live-stock up to 2 sitios or a little more. 11. Products of land and property
of the propios to be applied to expense of worship, church, public buildings,
schools, etc. Such property to be administered by a majordomo, elected for
4 years from the emancipated and watched by the alcalde and priest, who
may remove him for cause, and who are to use the product of the property
for the purposes specified, with the approval of the gefe politico. Routine of
annual reports and accounts. 12. The comisionado and priest to render full
report with lists, etc., of the new foundations. 13. The gefe politico to give
titles to lands, and license to use a mark for cattle. 14, 15. Each family to
receive from the mission property 2 mares, 2 cows, 2 ewes, with implements,
etc., but all subject to variation according to the circumstances of the
mission and judgment of comisionado and priest. 10. 100 cattle and 25
horses to be given for the propios if the mission has sufficient to do so; other-
wise, what it can give. 17. Each individual will mark his animals; but for
two years they are to be tended in common by persons appointed alternately
by the alcalde for the purpose. For one year no animal can be killed or sold;
nor afterwards all the stock of any individual. Penalty, a return to mission
life. 18. They will enjoy in common the use of water, grass, wood, etc., on
the lands assigned for egidos and pasturage. 19. The land to be the property
of the individual to whom it is assigned, and of his heirs; but it cannot be
divided nor transferred. 20. No mortgage, lien, or mortmain title can be
imposed on the land, under penalty of confiscation. 21. The emancipated
must aid in the common work of the pueblo on ditches, dams, corrals, ro-
deos, constructing church and other public buildings. They must mark the
boundaries of their fields with useful trees. 22. Land left vacant by the
death of the owner without heirs reverts to the nation. 23. The emancipated
330 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
two or three hundred Indian vecinos of that town
were beyond all comparison more unfortunate and
oppressed than any in the missions. Not one had a
garden, a yoke of oxen, a horse, or a house fit for a
rational being. Instead of the equality so much
talked about, the Indians swept the streets and did
all the menial work. For offences scarcely noticed
in others, they were bound naked over a cannon to
receive 100 blows. They were in reality slaves, be-
ing bound for a whole year by an advance of some
trifle, since no Indian ever looked beyond the present.
They had no ambition for liberty except for savage
liberty and vicious license, which they would purchase
at the cost of a thousand oppressions. Duran was
convinced by experience and from conversation with
practical men that emancipation would result in slavery
or savagism to the Indians and in destruction to all
their property; and he begged the governor to con-
sider weli the results before deckling a subject "worthy
the wisdom of a whole congress." 51 Yet on receipt
of the regulations Duran offered no general opposi-
tion to the plan, limiting his criticism to the recom-
mendation of here and there a minor change in some
of the articles, calling for no special attention. His
closing suggestion was as follows: "If after three or
four years it shall be noted that the emancipados
depend on wild fruits for subsistence, that they
allow their live-stock to decrease, that they neglect
their planting and other labors in a spirit of vaga-
bondage, or that they manifest no zeal or liking for a
rational and civilized life, and if, being several times
warned, they do not mend, then they shall be returned
who may neglect their work and stock, or dissipate them, or abandon their
homes to give themselves up to vagabondage, idleness, and vice, will be sub-
mitted anew to the mission by decision of the alcalde and priest, who must,
however, give two previous warnings, with time to reform. 24. The authori-
ties will attend to the exact enforcement of these regulations, and will be
responsible for infractions if known and not prevented.
- 1 July 3, 1833, D. to F., in Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 88-91. On June
17th, D. had written on the unsatisfactory condition of the Indians at S.
]>icgo and S. Luis, made worse by the pernicious example of Portilla's sol-
diers. Id., v. pt i. 78-9. Also to same eifect on July 19th. Id., 101.
PARTIAL EMANCIPATION. 831
to their missions," the author having of course little
doubt that they would eventually be thus returned. 52
While Figueroa's plan was not so radical as to
greatly excite the opposition even of friars, yet when
he attempted its execution he encountered obstacles
and found no popular enthusiasm in its favor. It
was tolerated by the padres as an experiment not
seriously interfering with the mission system, nor
very destructive to their interest in the mission prop-
erty, but sure to result in proving the utter incapac-
ity of the Indians for self-government. But, for the
same reasons largely, it was only passively approved
by the gente de razon, who saw in it no direct avenue
to the mission lands and herds and servants, while
the neophytes themselves were ambitious only to
have the property to dispose of as they pleased, and
could see little that was attractive in pueblo life
under authority, in a living that was to be earned, in
having fields that must be tilled, and cattle that could
not be bartered. The governor, however, made an
earnest effort to give the Indians the civil liberty so
little prized by them, but so valuable in the eyes of
Mexican theorists. He visited the southern missions
in person, exhorting the assembled neophytes and ex-
plaining to them the advantages of the proffered
freedom. Of one hundred and sixty families at San
Diego and San Luis, qualified according to the stand-
ard established, only ten could be induced to accept
emancipation before Figueroa started on his return
to the north. 53 He persevered in his efforts never-
theless, appointing captains Argiiello and Portilla
as comisionados. The results cannot be exactly
known. Some families were emancipated at San
Diego and San Luis, but not enough apparently to
form a new pueblo; though they received lands,
managed their own property, and became citizens.
52 Duran, Critica sobre las Prevencioncs de Emancipation, 1S33, MS.
Dated at S. Diego July lOih.
03 Oct. 5th, F. at Sta 13. St. Pop., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 7-.
332 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION. '
At San Juan Capistrano the experiment was tried
on a larger scale. All seem to have been emanci-
pated, and lands were assigned at the mission, which
thus became virtually a pueblo in October, under the
prevenciones of July, and certain special supplemen-
tary rules issued at this time. I find no evidence
that any neophytes at all were emancipated this year
north of San Juan. 54
In addition to his efforts in the direction of experi-
mental and partial emancipation, Figueroa also kept
in view his obligation to report on a plan for formal
secularization. In August he called upon the dipu-
tacion, and on the prelates of the two missionary
51 July 19, 1883, F. appoints Argue] lo comisionado for S. Diego, notifying
also Duran. Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 31-2. Sept. 21st, Portilla to F. On
the 23d be will begin the distribution to the neophytes of San Juan Capis-
trano of their lands at S. Mateo, the best site on the mission tract. The
Ind. of S. Luis will build their houses at once (where it is not stated), while
the women harvest the melons. In another letter of the same date P. says
the Ind. of S. Juan are not willing to go to S. Mateo, not understanding why
their lands should not be assigned at the mission, where they have already
well watered lots on which they are supporting themselves without aid from
the mission. F. at first ordered a temporary suspension of the distribution at
S. Mateo, and on Oct. 13th granted the petition of the Ind., ordered lands
to be assigned at the mission under the rules, and issued some supplementary
rules for their guidance. Id., xxxi. 38. On Oct. 5th, he had announced his
intention in a report to Mexico to emancipate all the neophytes of S. Juan,
who seemed more civilized than others. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii.
72. It may therefore be supposed that these regulations were put in force.
Sept. 27th, Argiiello to F. lieports progress, or lack of it, at S. Diego and
S. Luis. He says that of 59 heads of families at S. Diego only two wished
for emancipation, unless they could have their property to do what they
pleased with it; but there were 14 families of 33 persons from S. Dieguito
who wished to join the two and form a pueblo, and he had granted their
petition and was going to assign their lands. (It is not stated where, nor is
there any evidence that he did so. ) At S. Luis Key he was even less suc-
cessful; for out of 108 families none desired emancipation, though 4 married
men were somewhat non-committal on the subject. Id., xxxi. 36-7. Oct.
3d, M. G. Vallejo to F. Thanks God that the true owners of the missions
begin to enjoy their rights. ' I have rejoiced from the bottom of my heart
at the liberation of these poor people from the clutches of the missionaries.
The great supply of men and dollars the padres have hitherto had will now,
though rather late, come to an end!' St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 318.
Oct. 15th, in a decree on elections F. declares that the neophytes are not
citizens, but the cmancipados can vote. Dcpt. St. Pap., Aug., MS., xi. 12;
Id., S. Jos6, MS., iv. 131. Nov. 26th, F. directs Portilla to warn the 'towns-
men' of S. Juan that they must do nothing but what is allowed in the regla-
meuto, and must obey orders sent to Portilla. The ayunt. of Los Angeles
has nothing to do with the management of their property — only having
jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. P. is to instruct them in their
rights and duties, and bid them pay no heed to idle rumors. De.pt. St. Pap.,
Ben. Mil, MS., lxxix. 12.
VIEWS OF PREFECT AXD PRESIDENT. 333
bands, to state what missions were in a condition to
be secularized under the law of 1813 ; what objections
to secularization existed; and what would be the best
means to be employed. 55 The diputacion held no
session this year, or at least has left no record of its
reply; but both Duran and Garcia Diego gave their
views on the subject, the former in several communi-
cations, the latter in a single one dated September
24th. There was nothing in the argument of the
Zacatecan prefect that demands extended notice.
He admitted that all the missions under his charge —
except Solano, which lacked some weeks of the re-
quired ten years — were subject to secularization ac-
cording to the law of 1813; but he believed that law
could not be applied to California without inevitable
ruin to the missions and to the neophytes. 56
President Duran of course opposed the change, and
used to some extent the old arguments, with which,
coming from him and others, the reader is familiar;
but he also seems to have put himself as fully as pos-
sible in the governor's place, and admitting for the
time that a change was inevitable, to have given in
good faith his views respecting the best means to be
employed. He noted two great obstacles to be over-
come: first, the natural apathy, indolence, and in-
competency of the neophytes, acknowledged by every
intelligent man who had any experience in the matter;
and second, the burdens imposed on the missions by
circumstances, chiefly that of supporting the troops
55 Aug. 2, 1833. St. Paj)., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 96; Arch. Arzob.,
MS., v. pti. 106.
b * Garcia Diego, Parecer del Padre Prefect o sobre Proyecto de Secularizacion,
1833, MS. The law, he claims, was made 2,000 leagues away by men who had
no knowledge of the character and needs of Californian Indians. Emancipated,
the Ind. would return to nakedness and savagism. Good men would not be
chosen for alcaldes. The govt had never secularized the missions of Tarahu-
mara and Sonora, though older than those of Cal. The padres would content
themselves with saying mass and confessing applicants. It is only by force
that Ind. can be made to attend to religious duties. The bishop has no
curates, and the friars would not serve as such, etc. It would seem that F.
also addressed his inquiries to others; for Oct. 19th, Alf. Jose" Sanchez re-
ports S. F., S. Josd, and Solano as in a condition to be secularized, the In-
dians being altogether competent. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 96.
334 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
as tliey had clone for over twenty years. Of course
the Indians would do nothing for the support of the
troops after secularization, and if any of their proper-
ty were taken by force, they would find means to do
away with the rest and escape to the wilderness and
savagism. Therefore, before effecting any radical
change, the government must be sure respecting re-
sources for the future. The padre disclaimed any
opposition by himself or his associates from motives
of interest to their college or to themselves. The law
of 1813 was altogether inadequate, having been
framed by men who knew nothing of the subject in
its Californian phases. The ten-year rule should be
ignored, and some other adopted, if the results of
half a century's work were to be saved.
Three plans were suggested by Duran. The first
was to establish a new line of missions and presidios
east of the old line, secularize the old establishments
into Indian pueblos, and give the neophytes their
choice between remaining in the pueblos or being at-
tached to the new missions. This would effectually pre-
vent them from escaping from civilization, and would
also free the territory from the danger of attack and
outrage at the hands of renegade neophytes, hostile gen-
tiles, and ambitious foreigners. This plan, though the
best, was probably impracticable, because the national
government could not be induced to bear the expense.
The second plan, though not so expeditious, w T as sure,
and would lead to the same result. It was to have
a bishop appointed for California, a live man, not bent
on leading a life of ease, and to give him the exclusive
control of all tithes under the protection but not
direction of the governor. With the means placed at
his disposal, the bishop could in a few years have in
operation a seminary of ecclesiastical education, a col-
lege of missionaries, a cathedral, and all the necessary
agencies for converting gentiles and furnishing curates.
Then the missions might be secularized without risk.
The third expedient, less desirable than the others,
DURAN'S PLAN. 335
was a partial and experimental secularization of cer-
tain old missions, eight of which are named, where
there have been no new conversions for many years.
A portion of the property might be distributed, and
the rest kept as a community fund, administered by
stewards of their own choice, free from tithes, and de-
voted to the support of the spiritual administration.
The missionary should have for a time a fatherly
control, and the alcaldes and majordomos should be
responsible for losses and evils resulting from a failure
to follow his advice. The neophytes should be made
to understand that if they neglect their privileges
they will be again put under the padres. With these
precautions, if also the government will see that the
gente de razon are obliged to set a better example,
the evils of secularization may be reduced to a mini-
mum. 57
Figueroa had now become convinced that any
general measure of secularization would be productive
of great injury to the interests of California. In his
report of July 20th, he had advocated a gradual
emancipation, in which he thought the friars might
be induced to cooperate. 53 Now, having heard that a
bill for secularization had been introduced in congress,
he made haste to lay before the government, in his
report of October 5th, the results of his own expe-
rience and the views of Duran and Garcia Diego,
with whom he agreed to the extent of opposing any
sudden and radical change in the mission system, as
involving total destruction of all the property with
possible danger to the security of the territory. He
was inclined to favor Duran's plan of a partial and
experimental change at the oldest missions. 59 It
07 Duran, Proyectos de Secularization de Misiones, 1S33, MS. On Oct.
10th Duran asks earnestly that Gov. F. use his influence to have the padres
relieved of the mission temporalities, promising to serve en lo espiritual until
ministers can be sent to replace them. No reason is given except that the
padres are old and worn out.
M Valkjo, Doc. Hist. Cah, MS., xxxi. 33.
C0 F(jueroa, [n forme en que se opone al Proyecto de Sccidarizacion, 1833, MS.
The 8 missions mentioned by Duran were: S. Juan Capistrano, S. Buenaven-
tura, Sta Barbara, Purisima, S. Antonio, S. Carlos, Sta Cruz, and S. Francisco.
336 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
must be noticed that Figueroa had reported in favor
of expelling Padres Duran and Sarria from the terri-
tory. Their conduct in private and religious matters
was praise worth} 7 ; but politically they were opposed
to the national interests, and they had not scrupled
to use their official position, influence, and wealth to
spread their opinions, opposing the distribution of
lands, freedom of the press, and popular sovereignty,
and desiring the reestablishment of the inquisition. 60
Fiofueroa's advice, whatever might otherwise have
been its effect, came too late. The national congress,
without waiting for the governor's report, and largely
through the influence of the Hijar and Padres party,
as we have seen, had not only discussed a bill for
secularization, but had passed it on the 17th of Aug-
ust. 61 This law simply provided that the missions
60 Aug. 17, 1S33, F. to sup. govt, in answer to an order referring to him
Echeandia's complaints against the friars and Victoria's defense of their con-
duct. Dcpt. St. Pajx, MS., iii. 139-40.
61 Decrcto del Congreso Mejicano secidarizando las Misiones, 17 de Agosto de
1833. In Arrillaga, Recopilaeion, 1833, p. 19-21; Dublan and Lozano, Leg.
Max., ii. 548, iii. 96; Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii. 165; Halkck's Report, 125, 14S-9;
Dwinelle's Colon. Hist., add., 26-7; Jones' Report, 59; /. Rockwell, 455;
Wheeler's Land Titles, 9-10; Bandini, Doc, MS., 36; Hayes' Mission Book, i.
218; Lassepas, Baja Cal., 206-7; Muhlenpfordt, Mejico, ii. 450. Art. 1. The
govt will proceed to secularize the missions of Upper and Lower California.
2. In each mission shall be established a parish under a priest of the secular
clergy, with a salary of from $2,000 to $2,500, as the govt may determine.
3. These curates can collect no fee for marriages, baptisms, burials, or any
other service. As to fees of pomp, they may receive such as may be expressly
allowed in the tariff to be formed with the least possible delay for that pur-
pose by the bishop of the diocese and approved by the sup. govt. 4. To the
parishes are given the churches of each mission, with the sacred vessels, vest-
ments, and other appurtenances now possessed by each; and also such rooms
adjoining the church as in the judgment of the govt may be deemed neces-
sary for the most fitting service of the parish. 5. For each parish the govt
will provide a burial-ground outside the settlement. 6. $500 per year are
assigned as an endowment for public worship and for servitors in each parish.
7. Of the buildings belonging to each mission, there shall be assigned the
most appropriate as a dwelling for the curate, with land not exceeding 200
varas square; and the other buildings shall be used as an ayuntamiento-
house, primary schools, public establishments, and work-shops. 8. In order
to provide promptly and effectually for the spiritual needs of the Californias,
there is to be established a vicar-generalship at the capital of Alta Cal., with
jurisdiction over both territories; and the diocesan will confer the correspond-
ing powers, as complete as possible. 9. As an endowment of this vicarship
$3,000 are assigned, from which all expenses of the office must be paid, no fees
being allowed on any pretext. 10. If for any reason the curate of the cap-
ital or of any other parish shall hold the vicarship, he will receive $1,500 in
addition to his allowance as curate. 11. No custom can be introduced oblig-
MEXICAN LAW OF 1833. 337
should be converted into parishes, under the manage-
ment of the ordinary ecclesiastical authorities, and
regulated some details of that management. Respect-
ing the real difficulties of secularization, the disposition
to be made of mission property, and the obstacles
existing in California, it was silent. Supplementary
regulations were apparently contemplated, though
not mentioned; and such regulations, or what may in
a certain sense be construed as such, will be noticed a
little later in the instructions to Jose Maria Hijar.
By the law of August 17th, the expense of putting
curates and a vicar in charge of the missions, and also
as it appears of supporting them in their new posi-
tions — that is, all the expense arising from the execu-
tion of the law — was to be paid from the pious fund.
By a later decree of November 26th, the government
was authorized "to adopt all measures to insure the
colonization, and make effective the secularization of
the missions, of Alta and Baja California, using for
that purpose in the most convenient manner the
estates of the pious fund of those territories, in order
to furnish resources to the commission and families
now in this capital and intending to go there." 62
We have seen that ten new padres had come to
California in 1833 to reen force the missionary band;
but two of the Fernandinos died this year, Jose Ber-
nardo Sanchez, ex-president, and Luis Gil y Taboada ;
ing the inhabitants of Cal. to make oblations, however pious they may be or
necessary they may be declared; and neither time nor consent of the citizens
can give them any force or virtue. 12. The govt will see to it that the
diocesan do his part in carrying out the objects of this law. 13. When the
new curates have been named, the govt will gratuitously furnish a passage for
them and their families by sea; and besides may give to each for the journey
by land from $400 to $800, according to the distance and number of family.
14. The govt will pay the passage of returning missionaries; and in order
that they may return comfortably by land to their college or convent, may
give to each from $200 to $300, and at discretion whatever may be necessary
in order that those who have not sworn the independence may leave the
republic. 15. The sup. govt will meet the expenses authorized by this law
from the product of the estates, capital, and revenues at present recognized
as the pious fund of Cal. missions.
62 Decree of Nov. 26, 1833, circulated by the secretary on the same date,
and published in a bando of Dee. '2d. Arrillaya, Recop., 1833, p. 311-12; tiup.
Govt St. Pap., MS., ix. 1; Hayes? Mission Hook, i. 218.
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. *22
338 MISSIONS AND SECULARIZATION.
and one, Jose Viader, left the country. If we add to
these losses the five padres who had died, and one
who had left California in 1831-2, we have a gain of
only one during the three years covered by this chap-
ter, notwithstanding the coming of the Zacatecanos.
Narciso Duran succeeded Sanchez as president of
the missions in June 1831, being also prelate, vicar,
ecclesiastical judge, and apparently vice-prefecto, 63
there being no change in 1834-5 or the period in-
cluded in the following chapter. Duran's authority
was confined to the missions south of San Antonio
after the coming of the Zacatecanos in March 1833.
Padre Sarria, as already noted, had held the office of
comisario prefecto down to 1830; but while there is
no record of his ceasing to hold that office or that a
successor was appointed, neither is there any evidence
that he or any other friar performed any duties of
the position after 1830, and he is spoken of in 1833
as ex-prefect. G4 Therefore we must conclude that the
office of prefect was abolished during these years so
far as the Fernandinos were concerned. It is to be
noted that Padre Sanchez issued several papers after
he left the presidency in 1831, which by their tone
would indicate that he still held some authority over
the friars, but there is no other evidence that such was
the case. In the north, Garcia Diego was comisario
prefecto of the Zacatecanos during the period covered
by this chapter and the next, Rafael Moreno being
president and vice-prefect from the beginning of 1834. G5
63 Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt i. 43; S. Gabriel, Lib. Mision, MS., 41; Arch.
Sta B., MS., vii. 7; Arch., Obispado, MS., 23. He is ina few documents ad-
dressed as prefect, but this was probably an error.
6 ' Arch., M is/ones, MS., ii. 678. In Id., 702, Duran is addressed by
Figueroa as presidente prefecto.
65 -S'. JosS, Patentes, MS., 190-213. Both were re-elected in 1835. P.
Gonzalez was made prefect provisionally in 1835.
CHAPTER XII.
MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
1834-1835.
Emancipation— Indian Pueblos — The Diputacion — Figureoa's Policy —
Mexican Law of Apeil 1834 — Provisional Regulations of August
9th— Hijar's Instructions— Their Meaning — The Reglamento int
Practice — Local Results — Ten Missions Secularized — Views of the
Padres — Supplementary Regulations of Nov. 4th — Destruction of
Mission Property by the Friars — Slaughter of Cattle— Stipends
in 1835 — Mission Supplies — Mission Ranchos — Garcia Diego's Sug-
gestions — Local Items of 1835 — Six Missions Secularized — The Fer-
nandinos Content — Mexican Decree of Nov. 9th — Mission Statis-
tics, 1831-5— Seasons — Pestilence — Indian Affairs, 1831-5.
There is no positive record that Figueroa's eman-
cipatory experiments had led to the foundation of any
other Indian pueblo than that at San Juan Capistrano
before the end of 1833. It is possible, however, that
two others were founded before that date, San Dieguito
by the ex-neophytes of San Diego, and Las Flores by
those of San Luis Rev. At any rate, Figueroa in
his opening address before the diputacion, May 1,
1834, stated that the three pueblos had not only been
established, but were flourishing, the difference be-
tween the condition of the townsmen and of the neo-
phytes being already noticeable. 1 And this is all
that is known of secularization in the first quarter of
the year.
In his discourse the governor recapitulated his past
efforts, and announced that the results of his plan of
gradual emancipation, though impeded by his other
1 Figueroa, Discurso de Apertura, 183^ MS.
(339)
340 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
onerous duties and by lack of competent subordinates,
had been most encouraging until interrupted by the
arrival of the secularization law of August 17th, which
compelled him to await further instructions. The
law was submitted to the diputacion with a request
for advice as to its enforcement. The deliberations of
that body on mission management in May and June
were extensive, but barren of results. Various propo-
sitions, relating to the measurement or assignment
of mission lands, to the prevention of unnecessary
slaughter of mission cattle, to the enforced ren-
dering of inventories by the padres pending secular-
ization, were introduced, referred to committees, re-
ported back, and discussed; but practically nothing
was accomplished. In view of the Mexican law of
August 1833, and of the knowledge that Hfjar had
been appointed commissioner of colonization, Figueroa
felt doubtful about his powers to take any action, and
the vocales were easily induced to adopt his views. It
was resolved June 3d that the gefe politico had no
authority to execute the law, though some steps
might be taken should circumstances require it; that
the diputacion should recommend the assignment of
certain property to the municipal funds of the new
pueblos, and that the government should also be
urged not to delay secularization even in the absence
of regular curates, since the friars could act as such
temporarily. 2
Though still doubtful, or at least affecting doubt,
as to his powers in the matter, Figueroa was induced
to change his mind so far as to admit that the ' cir-
2 Leg. Bee, MS., ii. 44-6, 51, 60-1, 67-8, 70-2, 83-6, 88-9, 92-5, 98-103,
108-1 1. The mission property recommended for-the fondo de propios included
1,000 head of cattle and horses, the gardens and vineyards, land for tillage
and for the stock, and the surplus buildings after secularization was provided
for. May 2d, the governor's old inquiry of Aug. 2, 1833, as to what missions
were in a condition to be secularized under the law of 1813, was received,
which is another proof that there had been no session in 1833. By the action
of May 22d and June 15th the unnecessary slaughter of mission cattle was pro-
hibited. But more on this elsewhere. It was ordered that vacant mission
lands should be granted according to the colonization law. This was pub-
lished in a bando. Arch. Obispado, MS., 90; Sta ( 'ruz, Arch., MS., 11.
FIGUEROA'S POSITION 1834. 341
cumstances' required action as provided for in the
previous resolutions, without awaiting special instruc-
tions from the government or the arrival of its com-
missioner. The reason alleged was that in the long
interval between the passage and enforcement of the
secularization law, the mission property was in danger
of bein^ wasted bv maladministration — a reason not
wholly without force. In reality, however, the posi-
tion of Figueroa in 1834 did not differ much from that
of Echeandia in 1831. Each desired to advance the
scheme of secularization, each had instructions to that
effect, each founded his action on a national law — of
Spain in one case and of Mexico in the other — each
expected the early arrival of a successor, each preferred
from motives of personal pride and for the personal
interests of friends and supporters that the change
should be inaugurated by himself rather than by his
successor, and each had the support of the diputacion.
Both knew perfectly well that they had strictly no
legal right to act in the matter, and that the motives
alleged, though of some weight, were not urgent for
immediate action; yet both chose to assume the re-
sponsibility of such action. Figueroa's act, if some-
what less arbitrary and uncalled for than that of
Echeandia, was none the less a trick. Unlike Eche-
andia's, but largely from accidental causes, it proved
to a certain extent successful. It is by no means im-
possible that more was known in California of the in-
structions to Hijar and the plans of Padres than was
admitted in public discussions and correspondence. 3
3 April 16, 1834, congress passed a decree, published by bando on April
10th, as follows: '1. All the missions of the republic shall be secularized. 2.
The missions shall be converted into curacies, the limits of which shall be des-
ignated by the governors of the states where said missions exist. 3. This de-
cree is to go into full effect within four months from the date of its publica-
tion.' Arrillaga, Recop., 1834, p. 134-5; Dept. St. Pap., Mont., MS., vii.
G; Sup. Govt St. Pap., MS., x. 1; Hayes' Mission Book, i. 220; Id., Legal Hist.
S. Diego, i. 57; Jones' Report, no. 13. This law seems never to have been
mentioned in Californian discussions, and was probably not understood to ap-
ply to Cab, as very likely — from the use of the terms 'governors' and 'states,'
and the existence of a special law — it was not intended to apply; yet had F.
known of this decree, he might have used it somewhat plausibly in defence
of his course. In Figueroa, Manijiedo, passim, there is much argument for
312 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
Provisional regulations for the secularization and
administration of the missions were proposed to the
diputacion July 19th by the Carrillos. Don Carlos
was for some reason, doubtless satisfactory to himself,
less radically opposed to secularization than he had
been a few years earlier. After full discussion, Fi-
gueroa still maintaining a slight pretence of opposi-
tion, they were approved article by article in the
secret sessions of July 30th and 31st, re-read and
finally approved August 2d, and officially promulgated
in a printed bando by the governor August 9th. 4
and against his action. In Mexico, Mem. Justicia, 1834, p. 30, it is stated
that the execution of the laws of Aug. 1833 and April 1834 has been pre-
vented by lack of priests, largely due to the ravages of cholera.
i F}gueroa, Reglamento Provisional par a la secularizacion de las Misiones cle
la Alia California, 9 de Agosto, 1S34-. Printed document in Earliest Print-
i.r/ in Gal. Also in St. Pap., Miss, and Golon., MS., ii. 253-62; Bandini,
Doc., MS., 37; Arch. Sta B., MS., viii. 264-75; x. 254-65; Dept. St. Pap.,
Mont., MS., iii. 30-42; and with something of the discussions in Leg. Rec,
MS., ii. 12-28. English translations in HallecFs Report, 147-53; Jones' Re-
port, 65; Dwinelle's Golon. Hist. S. F'co, append., 31; /. Rockwell, 456;
Hayes' Mission Boole, i. 220. 1 . The gefe politico, according to the spirit of
the law of Aug. 17, 1S33, and to his instr. from the sup. govt, acting in
accord with the prelates of the friars, will partially convert into pueblos the
missions of this territory; beginning in Aug. (erroneously printed 'next
August,' it having been discussed in July) with 10 missions and continuing
with the others successively. (In the original proposition the last clause was
'so far as his duties may allow,' the deiinite date and the specification of
missions being substituted after much debate.) 2. The friars will be relieved
from the administration of temporalities, and will exercise only the functions
of their ministry in spiritual matters until the formal division of parishes be
made and curates provided by the govt and bishop. 3. The ter. govt will re-
assume the admin, of temporalities, directively, on the following plan. 4.
The approval of this regl. will be solicited from the sup. govt by the quickest
route.
Distribution of property and lands. — 5. To each head of a family, and to
all over 20 years old, will be given from the mission lands a lot not over 400
nor less than 100 varas square. In common, will be given them enough land
to pasture their stock. Egidos shall be assigned for each pueblo, and at the
proper time %)ropios also. 6. Among the same individuals there shall be dis-
tributed pro rata, according to the judgment of the gefe pol., one half of the
live-stock, taking as a basis the latest inventories rendered by the mission-
aries. 7. There will also be distributed to them, proportionally, half or less
of existing chattels, tools, and seed indispensable for the cultivation of the
ground. 8. All the remaining lands and property of every kind will remain
under the charge and responsibility of the majordomo or employee named by
the gefe pol., at the disposal of the sup. govt. 9. From the common mass of
this property provision shall be made for the subsistence of the padres, pay
cf majordomo and other servants, expenses of worship, schools, and other
objects of public order and improvement. 10. The gefe pol., intrusted with
the direction of temporalities, will determine and regulate after proper investi-
gation, the expenses which it may be necessary to incur, both for the execution
of this plan and for the preservation and increase of the property. 1 1 . The
BANDO OF AUGUST 1334. 343
These regulations, which I give nearly in full, were
certainly, whatever may have been the legality of
their issue, much more wisely and carefully prepared
than any that had preceded them, resembling in many
points the prevenciones on gradual emancipation,
leaving much to the judgment of the friars, and
missionary will choose that one of the mission buildings which suits him best
for his dwelling and that of his attendants; and he will be provided with the
necessary furniture and utensils. 12. The library, sacred vessels, church
furniture, etc., shall be in charge of the padre, under the responsibility of a
sacristan chosen by him and paid a fair salary. 13. General inventories
shall be made of all mission property duly classified, account books, docu-
ments of every class, debts, and credits — all to be reported to the sup. govt.
Political government of the pueblos. — 14. The political govt shall be or-
ganized in conformity with existing laws; and the gefe pol. will give the
proper rules for the establishment of ayuntamientos and holding of elections.
15. The economical management of the pueblos shall belong to the ayunt. ;
but in the admin, of justice they will be subject to the judges of 1st instance
constitutionally established in the nearest places. 1G. The emancipated will
be obliged to aid in the common work which in the judgment of the gefe pol.
may be deemed necessary for the cultivation of the vineyards, gardens, and
fields remaining for the present undistributed. 17. They will render to the
padre the necessary personal service.
Restrictions. — 18. They may not sell, burden, nor convey the lands given
them; nor may they sell their stock. Contracts made against these orders
shall be void; the govt will reclaim the property and the buyers will lose
their money. 19. Lands, the owners of which die without heirs, shall revert
to the nation.
General rules. — 20. The gefe pol. will appoint the comisionados whom he
may deem necessary for the execution of this plan. 21. The gefe pol. is au-
thorized to settle whatever doubt or matter may arise in connection with the
execution of this regulation. 22. Until this regul. is put in force the mission-
aries are prohibited from slaughtering cattle in considerable quantities, ex-
cept the usual slaughter for the subsistence of neophytes, without waste.
23. The debts of the missions shall be paid in preference out of the common
property, on such terms as the gefe may determine. And for exact compli-
ance there shall be observed the following rules: 1. The comisionados as soon
as appointed will go to their respective missions to carry into effect the plan,
presenting their credentials to the friar, with whom they are to preserve har-
mony, politeness, and due respect. 2. At first the com. will receive- all ac-
counts and documents relating to property; then the general inventories will
be formed in the order given, an estimate of two intelligent persons sufficing
for the live-stock. As entered in the inventory, all passes from the control of
the friar to that of the com. ; but no innovation is to be made in the system
of work, etc., until experience proves it to be necessary. 3. The com. and
majordomo are to see that all superfluous expenses cease. 4. Before making
an inventory of field property the com. must explain to the Indians this reg-
ulation and the change it is to effect in their condition. Their lots are to be
immediately distributed. The com., padre, and majordomo will select the
place, give to each what he can cultivate within the fixed limits, and allow
er.ch to mark his land in the most convenient way. 5. The com. must pay
no debts of the mission without an express order from the govt, to which a
report must be made in order that the number of cattle to be distributed may
be determined. 6. Implements will be distributed for individual or common
nse as the com. and padre may decide; but grain is to remain undistributed,
and the neophytes will receive the usual rations. 7. What is known as the
344 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
evidently intended to conciliate as far as possible the
good-will of the missionaries and to use all possible
precautions against the evils to be feared from a sud-
den and radical change.
In the middle of October, after some progress had
been made in carrying into effect the law under Figue-
roa's regulations, Hijar appeared on the scene with
instructions dated April 23d which contained certain
articles regulating the law of August 1833, or at least
were the only regulations on the subject that the
Mexican government had deigned to issue. I append
those articles in. a note. 5 Their exact meaning is
not quite clear, since, literally interpreted, they con-
tain not a word to authorize the distribution of ' any
portion of the mission property to neophytes. This
fact enabled Figueroa and his friends to denounce
with much plausibility the whole scheme as one of de-
liberate plunder. I suppose, however, that the failure
of the government to define specifically the Indians'
rights was but a part of the general carelessness ob-
servable in all official transactions relating to the col-
' nunnery ' is to be abolished at once. The girls and boys are to be given to
their parents, to whom their parental duties are to be explained. 8. The
com., after investigation, will propose as soon as possible one or more persons
deemed fit for majordomos, with the salary that should be paid them. 9.
Rancherias at a distance having 25 families may form a separate pueblo if
they wish to do so, otherwise they will form a barrio or ward of the main
pueblo. 10. The com. will report the population, in order to prepare for elec-
tions, which so far as possible are to conform to the law of June 12, 1830.
1 1 . The com. will take all necessary executive steps demanded by the state
of business, reporting to the govt and consulting it in serious or doubtful
cases. 12. In all else the com., padre, majordomo, and Indians will act as
prescribed in the reglamento. — Monterey, Aug. 9, 1S34. Jose Figueroa;
Agustin V. Zamorano, secretary.
b JIijar, Instrucciones. Art. 1. He will begin by taking possession of all
the property belonging to the missions of both Californias. Art. 7. Special
care shall be taken to attach the Indians to the settlements, mixing them
with the other inhabitants, but not permitting any settlement composed of
them only. Art. 9. Each family of colonists to receive certain land, live-
stock, and implements (of course from the mission property). Art. 11. The
distribution of movable property belonging to the missions having been made
(was this merely the distribution to the colonists as per art. 9 ? or did it in-
clude also a distribution to neophytes as a part of secularization ?), one half
of what is left shall be sold in the most advantageous manner. Art. 13. The
remaining half is to be kept on account of the govt, to pay expenses of wor-
ship, education, etc. Art. 14. An annual report on the mission property re-
quired from the director of colonization.
HUAR'S INSTRUCTIONS. 345
ony. Secularization included as an essential element,
by the whole spirit of Spanish laws, the distribution
of mission lands and property to the Indians. Hijar
and Padres always claimed to be advocates and de-
fenders of aboriginal rights; and while their strongest
motives, as in the case of all men in a like situation,
were personal rather than humanitarian, I deem it
unlikely that there was any intention of perpetrating
so gross an outrage as was implied in a literal inter-
pretation of the instructions considered independently
of other laws. I suppose rather that the plan was to
put the neophytes, at least in theory, on equal terms
with the colonists in the distribution of property. It
can serve no useful purpose to speculate upon what
might have been the results if Hijar's instructions
had been carried out. The revocation of his commis-
sion as gefe politico enabled Figueroa very justly to
annul those instructions; else he would have found
himself with his reglamento very much in the position
of Echeandia with his decree of January 1831. The
controversy has been fully treated elsewhere; and the
arguments of the two rivals on their respective sys-
tems and authority for regulating secularization,
though lengthy and interesting, do not call for further
notice. 6 The Hijar and Padres colony as planned
seemed destined to exert a radical and controlling in-
fluence on the fate of the California missions; but in
reality it had no effect beyond the imposition of a
heavy tax for a year or two to support the families,
and a diminution of the opposition which Figueroa
might otherwise have expected from the friars. 7
The records of what was actually accomplished this
year under Figueroa's provisional regulations are
meagre, as we shall find the annals of secularization
6 See Figueroa, 3Ian{/lesto, 44-80.
"Janssens, Hijar, and other members of the colony are inclined to insist
that the opposition to the directors arose largely from their efforts in behalf
of the Indians, whose property the other party wished to control.
346 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
in all years. There are in the archives vague local
items indicating the presence of a comisionado and
the introduction of the new system in nine missions.
Such fragmentary information as can be derived from
these items, I give in a note. 8 The tenth mission was
perhaps San Carlos, which would naturally have been
one of the first, though there is no evidence on the
subject. Most of the items bear date of November,
and in but few missions was much progress made be-
fore December.
The padres have not left themselves on the record
on either side of the contest between Figueroa and Hi-
jar; nor do they appear to have made any -attempt to
interfere seriously with the enforcement of the pro-
visional regulations. Before their publication, Presi-
dent Duran had written a letter of general discontent
to the governor, complaining of the uncertain pros-
pects in the matter of secularization, of the scarcity
and illness of friars, of the refusal of the Zacatecanos
to take charge of more than eight missions, of the
8 There is nothing in relation to S. Diego. At S. Luis Itey, Capt. Portilla
was comisionado in Nov., and the accounts turned over by P. Fortuni showed
assets of $4G,G13 and liabilities of $14,429. In Dec. the lnd. refused to work,
and ran away, taking most of the horses and killing many cattle; but in Jan.
they began to come back and behave better. St. Pap., Miss., MS., xi. 49-53;
Hayes* Mission Book, i. 223, 227. No record for S. Juan Capistrano, excep : that
Juan Jos6 Rocha, probably the comisionado, acknowledges on Nov. 22d re-
ceipt of resolution to secularize the mission. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS.,
lxxxviii. 18. At S. Gabriel an inventory was made in Nov. 1834. St. Pap.,
Miss., MS., vi. 12-14; and Lieut-col. Gutierrez was doubtless the com., being
in charge early the next year. Lieut Antonio del Valle was the com. at S.
Fernando, and was engaged in Oct. in making inventories. Owrra, Doc,
MS., vi. 150; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 134. At Sta Barbara Alf. Anastasio
Carrillo was com. from Sept., with Jose Maria Gai^cia as majordomofrom Oct.
<SV. Pap., Miss., MS., ix. 24-31; xi. 1. Domingo Carrillo was com. of Puris-
ima in Nov. Id., xi. 23. There is no record for S. Luis, S. Miguel, S. Anto-
nio, S. Carlos, S. Juan, or Soledad. Santa Cruz was delivered to Alf. Ignacio
del Vallc as com. on Aug. 24th; and Juan Gonzalez was majordomofrom Oct.
This establishment was now known as Pueblo de Figueroa; and the lnd. were
reported to behave admirably under the new system; though there was a lit-
tle trouble with the padre about the rooms to be occupied by him. St. Pap. ,
Miss., MS.,ix. 66-71; x. 6; Sta Cruz, Arch., MS., 12, 23; Valle, Lo Pasado,
MS., 9-10. There is no record of secularization this year at Sta Clara or S.
Jose. At S. F. de Asis, Joaquin Estudillo took charge as com. in Sept.
St. Pap., Miss., MS., ix. G2. At S. Rafael an inventory was taken in Sept. ;
the pueblo was marked out in Oct. by Ignacio Martinez, who was probably the
com.; and stock was distributed in Dec. Id., v. 58-9; x. 11. S. F. Solano
was perhaps not fully secularized until next year.
RULES OF SECULARIZATION". 347
action of some troops who had sustained the Indians
rather than the padres, and of new troubles, not ex-
plained, which had come upon himself. "The Indians
should not be entirely subjected nor entirely free,"
yet he saw no practicable middle course, and begged
Figueroa to take counsel of unprejudiced persons such
as foreigners. 9 Prefect Garcia Diego received in May
from the guardian of his college a copy of the secu-
larization law, with orders to obey its provisions and
instructions on the methods of surrender to curates.
He congratulated the Zacatecanos on the adoption of a
measure which would enable them to retire. About
the same time he received and circulated an order for-
bidding the padres to take any part in politics, or to
criticise the policy of the government. 10
Duran seems to have made a report on the plan
embodied in the provisional reglamento, which is not
extant, but which, on being presented to the diputa-
cion, was referred to a committee, and resulted in a
series of supplementary regulations adopted in the
extra session of November 3d and issued in a bando
by Figueroa on the 4th. No radical changes were
introduced by this document, which seems to indicate
that Duran and the other friars were inclined to look
somewhat favorably on the new system as adminis-
tered by the governor, or at least, that it was more
favorable to their interests than any substitute likely
to be obtained. 11
9 July 22, 1834, D. to F. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt ii. 4-5.
10 May 22, 1834, F. to Casarin. Dept. St. Pap., Mont, MS., vi. 30. June
20th, Garcia Diego to padres. Arch. Obispado, MS., 90. May 23d, same to
same. S. Jose, Patentes, MS., 203-8. Alvarado, Hist. Cal., MS., ii. 217-23,
tells us that the Zacatecans were in a fury. They prepared a protest to the
pres. against the plundering policy, calling for F. 's trial and removal. Backed
by Zamorano and Sanchez, they sent the protest south for the signatures of
the Femandinos, not one of whom would sign the document, and some of
whom talked very warmly in favor of the regl., mainly to annoy the Zaca-
tecanos, whom they despised as intruders. I believe, however, there is no
reason to credit Alvarado's statements on this and like subjects.
11 Re>/lamento de Misiones secularizadas, cvprobado %>or la Deputation en 3 de
Nov. 1834, MS., in Vallejo, Doc, xxxi. 131; Leg. Bee, MS., ii. 199-203;
translation in Hailed? s Report, 153-4; Jones' Report, 00; Divinelle's Colon.
Hist., S. F'c.o, add., 34; Hayes' Legal Hist. S. Diego, i. 57. Art. 1. Con-
formably to the law of Aug. 17, 1833, salaries of §1,500 are assigned to curates.
318 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
A special matter that may best be noticed here is
the slaughter of mission cattle by the friars in 1834
and the following years, together with a wanton neg-
lect and destruction of other property. Many of the
missionaries regarded secularization as an outrage
upon themselves, their college, and their neophytes;
and when they became convinced that the disaster
could not be averted, at different times, but chiefly
in 1834, they ceased to care for the buildings, vine-
yards, and gardens as in former times, and attempted
to realize in ready money as large an amount as pos-
sible, which of course could best be done by a slaugh-
ter of cattle for their hides and tallow. Accordingly
such a slaughter was effected, to some extent in all
the missions, but notably at San Luis Rey, San Ga-
of first-class parishes, and $1,000 to those of the second class. 2. Parishes of
the first class shall be, S. Diego and S. Dieguito; S. Luis Rey, Las Flores,
and annexed settlements; S. Gabriel and Los Angeles; Sta Barbara mission
and presidio; S. Carlos and Monterey; Sta Clara and Jose de S. Guadalupe;
and S. Jose - , S. Francisco Solano, S. Rafael, and the colony (7 in all, incor-
rectly grouped in Halleck's and other translations). Parishes of the second
class, S. Juan Capistrano, S. Fernando, S. Buenaventura, Sta Inds and Pu-
risima, S. Luis Obispo, S. Miguel, S. Antonio and Soledad, S. Juan Bautista
and Sta Cruz, S. Francisco mission and presidio. In parishes of more than
one place, the curate will reside at that first named. 3. The comisario pre-
fecto Garcia Diego will reside at this capital. The gefe pol. will ask from the
bishop in his behalf the faculties of vicario foraneo. His salary shall be $3,000.
4. In all other respects the vicar and curates are to conform to the law of
Aug. 17th. 5. Until the govt shall provide regular curates, the prelates will
do so (from the friars) provisionally, by consent of the gefe pol. 6. $500 per
annum shall be paid in each parish for church expenses and servants. 7. All
these salaries and expenses of worship shall be paid from the common prop-
erty of the extinguished missions, in money if there be any, or in produce at
current rates — the gefe pol. to give the necessary orders. 8. Art. 17 of the
regl., requiring the Ind. to render personal service to the friars, is abrogated.
9. The gefe will cause to be assigned buildings for the residence of curates,
ayuntamientos, schools, etc., according to art. 7 of the law. 10. Other
points of Duran's recommendations may be attended to by the gefe pol. under
art. 17 of the regl. 11. All to be communicated to the prelates and by them
to their subordinates.
My original is the one sent by Figueroa to Comisionado Valle at S. Fer-
nando, whom he directs to assign the curate's dwelling at once. Salaries are
to commence on Dec. 1st, after which date it will not be necessary to supply
the padre with subsistence or service, except on salary account. On Oct. 30th
F. had issued a resolution of the dip. that although the Ind. towns still bore
the name of missions, they were not lawfully so, since they ought to have been
secularized ere this, and should therefore be considered as towns of the repub- "
lie, subject to the same laws as other towns, being under the civil authorities
of the head towns of the respective districts. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS.,
ii. 2G3-4.
SLAUGHTER OF CATTLE. 349
briel, and Purisima, by outsiders who contracted to
kill the cattle and deliver half the hides to the padres.
Such, is the charge, and though exaggerated in detail,
I have no doubt it is well founded; indeed, so far as
I know, the padres have left in the records no denial
of its truth. Naturally the documentary evidence
on this subject is slight; but we have seen that in
June the diputacion forbade the slaughter of cattle
except in the usual quantities, and by members of the
community; and a similar prohibition was deemed
necessary in the reglamento of August. I append a
few notes from the archives and something of what
has been said on the subject. 12
12 July 16, 1834, F. to alcaldes, publishing the act of the dip. of the 12th.
It is stated that the slaughter was then going on at Purisima, S. Luis, and S.
Gabriel. Pico, Doc. Hist. Cal., MS., i. 9-10; Dept. St. Pap., Ang., MS.,
xi. 21-2; Sta Cruz, Arch., MS., 10-11; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 95-6. June
20th, Prefect Garcia Diego circulates the order to the Zacatecanos. Arch.
Obispado, MS., 90. July 8th, 10th, 12th, permission asked by S. Carlos find
S. Luis to slaughter cattle for payment of debts. L?g. Pec, MS., ii. 148-51,
1G3. From May to July 5,700 cattle were killed, leaving 2,850 hides for the
mission, the rest belonging to the ' porcioneros.' St, Pa%)., Miss., MS., x. 4.
Osio, Hist. Cat., MS., 203-6, attributes the slaughter largely to the feeling
of the Fernandinos against the Zacatecanos. The padre of S. Luis Obispo was
ordered by his prelate to convert the mission wealth as rapidly as possible;
and he bought $20,000 worth of cotton, woollen, and silk goods which he dis-
tributed among the neophytes. Over 5,000 hides from S. Gabriel were
shipped at S. Pedro. When P. Estehiega came to that mission he found all
the cattle destroyed, so that he had to appeal to the Yorba rancho for meat,
fat, and milk. Gov. Chico in 1836 said the Mars 'annihilated the best part of
the funds to allay the covctousness that they deemed to be the primary cause
of secularization,' executing ' matanzas espantosas de ganado,' and abandon-
ing 'toda clase de arbitrios de su progreso.' Earliest Printing in Cal. Ban-
dini, Hist. Cal., MS., 51-3, tells us that 2,000 cattle were killed in a single
day at one mission, the meat and fat being left in the fields. F.'s govern-
ment only pretended to interfere, to save a portion of the stock for a particu-
lar purpose indicated in a letter to friends in Mexico, which the author saw,
but which he takes good care not to quote or explain. J. J. Vallejo, Reminis.,
MS., 54-5, though a friend of the padres, admits the destruction, and thinks
it was justified by circumstances. Pio Pico, Hist. Cal., MS., 157, says he
had a contract at S. Gabriel, employing 10 vaqueros and 30 Indians, and
killing over 5,000 cattle. Pico, Acont., MS., 24, speaks of a very extensive
slaughter at Purisima under Domingo Carrillo, the administrator. Estudillo,
Datos, MS., 33-4, tells us that after a time nothing but the hides was saved.
Some 20,000 head were killed at the S. Jacinto ranch of S. Luis Rey.
Robinson, Life in Cal. , 159-61, says the ruin was more prccoptible at S.
Gabriel than elsewhei-e. The contractors really took two hides for every
cue they gave the padres. Hayes, Emig. Notes, 486, thinks the slaughter
began in 1832. Mrs Ord, Ocurrencias, MS., 70-3, is inclined to doubt that
any wanton slaughter was effected at most missions; but she understood that
30,000 cattle were killed at S. Gabriel, and remembers that there were fears
of a pestilence from the rotting carcasses. Truman, in the Cadrovllle Argus,
350 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
The venerable ex-prefeet Padre Francisco Vicente
Sarria, of the Fernandinos, died in 1835; and his as-
sociate, Francisco Javier Uria, had died the year
before. These are the only changes to be noted in
the missionary personnel, except that Padre Perez of
the Zacatecanos disappears from the records after
1835. I do not know what became of him.
By submitting to heavy discounts, certain friars
seem to have succeeded in collecting a portion of the
sums due them on account of sinodos this year. This
was accomplished through the agency of Virmond,
who for approved missionary drafts on the pious fund
obtained others on the national treasury which, were
paid in custom-house orders negotiable at 25 or 30
per cent discount for cash. As usual, the accounts are
incomplete, and it is impossible to state exactly what
sums were obtained; but at one time $7,200 were paid
to the padres of six missions; and the college of San
Fernando seems to have got a bill accepted for the
sinodos of nine friars from the beginning of 1830 dowm
to the respective dates of their decease. Meanwhile
the pious-fund estates remained, not yet rented ac-
cording to the law, in the hands of a directive junta.
Of the revenue from June 1832 to March 1834,
amounting to $56,250, the sum of $25,691 had been
expended on the colony; $23,567 had been taken as a
loan by the government; $4,713 paid out in miscel-
laneous expenses; and $1,523 paid over in missionary
stipends. 13
Sept. 23, 1871, gives a very exaggerated account of the destruction and ship-
ment to Spain of all the property at S. Juan Capistrano by P. Zalvidea;
and Taylor, Cal. Farmer, Feb. 1, 1861, tells us that the padre of S. Gabriel
unroofed the buildings, used the timbers for firewood, had the cattle killed
on halves, and distributed the utensils to the neophytes, who were ordered to
cut down the vineyards, but refused.
13 Mexico, Mom. Relatione*, 1835, p. 36-7, no. 10. May 2, 1835, F. to the
govt says that Dcppe, Virmond's agent, had paid $7,200 to padres of S. An-
tonio, Sta In6s, Purisima, S. Miguel, S. Juan Capistrano, and S. Francisco,
for 1831-2-3. He advises a suspension of such allowances, or of such pay-
ments, on the ground that the padres manage the missions in their own way
and have plenty of resources. In cases of actual necessity, the sinodos could
be paid from the mission products, and the whole considered as a loan to the
govt. (In view of the secularization laws already enforced or to be enforced
PROGRESS IN 1835. 351
Demands for supplies from the missions were often
refused in 1835, both by the padres and by the com-
isionados, but always on the plea of absolute want of
means. The changes of the last few years had left
many of the establishments in such a condition that
they could barely feed and clothe the Indians, who
were not disposed to look at all favorably on any shar-
ing of their earnings with the troops. To what ex-
tent, if any, the community cattle and other property
were sacrificed in aid of the troops or for the further-
ance of private interests I have no means of knowing;
but I suppose that the swindling operations charged
upon the government and the administrators, with
much probability of truth, did not commence until
later, and that in 1834-5 the authorities contented
themselves for the most part with the legitimate taxes
on mission products.
In respect to general regulations and progress of
secularization, there is little to be noted in the annals
of 1835. No approval of the reglamento came from
Mexico, nor disapproval for that matter, and in Cali-
fornia little or nothing was changed in the current
system. Figueroa devised a plan for establishing sep-
arate ranchos at each mission for the support of the
padre and of public worship; and even made a begin-
ning at San Carlos and Santa Cruz. Garcia Diego
approved the measure warmly in May, perhaps had
immediately, the meaning and force of P. 's argument are not apparent. ) June
17th, F. certifies the drafts of 6 padres, 4 of them for stipends of 1834 and 2
for 1S31-4, aggregating $4,800. St. Pap., Aliss. and Colon., MS., ii. 294-8.
Oct. 7th, Virmond to Guerra. On the discounts necessary to obtain money.
Calls for a full power of attorney, and will do his best. Guerra, Doc, MS.,
vi. 147-8. Dec. 23d, same. Speaks of the draft in favor of the college in
favor of PP. Catala, Suiier, Boscana, Barona, Amoros, Sanchez, Gil, Una,
and Sarria; and calls for doc. to prove their claims. Id., vi. 146-7. Dec.
lGth, there i3 no way to recover the losses of two or more of the missions by
the death of the insolvent Sindico Martiarena at Topic. Id., vi. 130. A list
of padres showing sums due to each from 1811 to Dec. 1, 1834. The total
sum is $248,000; and tho amount received from 1811 to 1830 by the padres
still living in 1834 was $19,200 out of $85, GOO that should have been paid.
Fondo Piadoso de Col.. Demostracton de los Sinodos que adeuda d los Rellgi-
osos del Colegio de S. Fernando, 1S11-34, MS. Oct. 14th, directors of pious
fund to pres. of missions, calling for certified accounts of sums due. Doc. Hist.
Cal., MS., iv. 994-5.
3o2 MISSION AXD INDIAN AFFAIRS.
suggested it first himself, but in August, after re-
flection, changed his opinion, basing his opposition
on the governor's lack of authority to make such an
innovation on the Mexican laws against the foundation
of any obras piadosas whatever, on the animosity that
would be felt against the padres so long as they ad-
ministered any property, on the insufficiency of the
means proposed, and on the injustice of freeing the
gente de razon from all responsibility for the support
of religion. 14 On account of this opposition or of Fi-
gueroa's early death, the scheme was carried no further.
From the Fernandinos we hear nothing: and their si-
lence may indicate that in the south secularization was
proving more or less satisfactory. In the north, how-
ever there were complaints of demoralization am
the Indians, and of other difficulties, which prompted
Prefect Garcia Diesfo to suggest certain modifications
of the rules, not adopted so tar as can be known. 15
14 May 29. Aug. 3. 1835, G. D. to F. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii.
333, 330-9. June 1,3th. guardian of the col. at Zacatecas wrote to prefect
the missions must not be considered nor called parishes, nor the missionaries
curates, since no legal and formal transfer had been effected. And the trans-
fer could be made lawfully to only priests able to show all their papers in due
form. Gorresp. de Mi*ioi<>:<. MS.. 4-3-7. Aug. 15th, Gr. P. to tixe padres. The
guardian recpiires statistieal information about the missions. S.
MS., -21 1-12.
15 Garcia Diego, P glas que ptropone el P. Pr f-cto para gob'frn
las ex-misiones, 1835, MS. His suggestions -were: 1. Total separation of the
quarters chosen by the padre for himself and servants and those of the comi-
sionado and majordomo. 2. That the Ind. be compelled to render per?
service to the padre, whose servants should not only be supported by him,
controlled and corrected in a parental way, independently of all interference
from the com. 3. That in view of disorders that have resulted among the
single women since they were set free, they should be returned to the pi
exclusive control, aided by an alcalde of his own choice. 4. That the all tr-
ance of 8500 per year for expenses of religious worship should be paid to the
padre at the beginning of the year, he to keep a book of accounts which was
t > be inspected by his prelate. 5. That the padres should be authorized to
enforce attendance on religious duties by the same means used in the cas
children. 6. That com. be instructed to aid the prelate with animals
vaqueros when travelling, or the friars travelling 1 >y i >rder of their prelate. 7.
The com. and majordomos also to furnish carriers of correspondence between
the prelate and friars.
Dana, Two V irs before the Mast, 199. speaks of the prevalent immorality
among the Indian women in 1835-6. May 21st. F. orders com. not
loans of mission effects which may prejudice the establishment. St. Pap. . 31
:x. 27. Oct. 12th, Vallej oion that not all the
neophytes are fit to be intrusted with the management of their
and advising that a par; be made to live in community, the property being
LOCAL ITEMS OF SECULARIZATION. 353
Locally wo have a series of items in continuation
of those presented for 1834. These show that six ad-
ditional missions were secularized this year, San
Diego, San Luis Obispo, San Antonio, Soledad, San
Juan Bautista, and San Francisco Solano. No
change had yet been made so far as the records show
at San Buenaventura, Santa Ines, San Miguel, Santa
Clara, and San Jose. Thus in sixteen missions the
friars had been deprived of the temporal management;
comisionados had at first taken charge, and at several
of the establishments had completed their labors; in-
ventories of all mission property had been made; a
portion of the lands and other property had been
distributed to the neophytes; the padres had be-
come temporarily curates; and majorclomos, often un-
officially called administrators, had succeeded the
comisionados, or were managing the estates under
their supervision. Figueroa's provisional reglamento
was practically in force, though the author was
dead, and, so far as can be determined from meagre
records, the result at many missions was not un-
satisfactory. 16 It is unfortunate that we may know
managed by majordomos. Vallejo, Doc. , MS. , iii. 43. Dec. 27th, F. says that
the sum of $300 for church expenses is excessive; and orders that payment be
made only for what is actually needed. St. Pap., Miss., MS., ix. 10.
16 At S. Diego Joaquin Ortega became majordomo in April. St. Pap.,
Miss., vi. 38-9. There is no record of any com. having served since 1833.
In Xov. the Ind. pueblo of San Pascual was in existence with 34 families.
Document in Hayes 1 Mission Book, i. 230; Id., Emig. Xotes, 497. No record
of S. Dieguito. At S. Luis Rey Portilla as com. had troubles of a not im-
portant nature with Ortega of S. Diego, and with the padre, who was not
pleased with the rooms assigned him. JJept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 3-7; St. Pap.,
Mus. and Colon . , MS. , ii. 340-1. Early in the summer he transferred the charge
of the property to Pio Pico, as majordomo, against whom in Nov. the Ind.
made loud complaints. Hay< s' Mission tiook, i. 229; Julio-Cesar, Coxa* de Indios,
MS., 4-5. Inventory of August, assets, $203,737; debts, $9,300. St. Pap.,
Miss., MS., vi. 10-11. An inventory of S. Juan Capistrano makes the assets
154,456; debts $1,420. /(/., v. 48-9. At S. Gabriel there is no record of the
appointment of a majordomo, Gutierrez being still in charge in Jan. Dept.
St. Pap., Aug., MS., ii. 3. Antonio del Valle became majordomo of S.
Fernando on June 1st; and to him the Ind. complained of P. Ibarra's re-
moval of money and goods. St. Pap., Miss. , MS. , ix. 8; xi. 3. In Id., xi. 3-4, is
a record that Carlos Carrillo was sent to secularize S. Fernando, but the Ind.
refused to recognize him. This is unintelligible, unless the name should be S.
Buenaventura. For Sta Barbara there are several inventories for the year;
and in May Jos<$ Maria Garcia took charge as maj. /(/., ix. 24-5. At Puri-
Hist. Cal., Vol. III. 23
354 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
so little about the practical working and immediate
results of the new system; and especially that the
padres' views are not extant. Here and there a friar
had a personal quarrel with the new administration
about the assignment of rooms or servants, or pre-
sented a complaint that the ex-neophytes were ill
treated, but for the most part they were silent.
They seem, more particularly the Fernandinos in the
sima Joaquin Carrillo as maj. was put in charge in Aug. by his brother Do-
mingo. Assets were $29,981. Id., vi. 16.
Manuel Jirneno was ordered by the gov. in Oct. to secularize S. Luis
Obispo; and Santiago Moreno was made maj. the same month. Id., ix. 14-1 j,
No record for S. Miguel. Manuel Crespo was the com. to secularize S. An-
tonio; and Mariano Soberanes was maj. until Sept. 10th, when he was succeeded
by Jos6 Ramirez. The inventory at the transfer showed assets of only $7,883.
Id., vi. 16; xi. 30. P. Mercado made very bitter complaints in Dec. of the
treatment of the Indians by Ramirez, and of the deplorable results, the regu-
lations being flagrantly disregarded, and the prosperity of the mission ruined.
Leg. Bee, MS., iii. 3-6; S. Antonio, Doc. Sueltos, MS., 120-1. At S. Carlos,
Torre, Beminiscencias, MS., 37-9, tells us that Joaquin Gomez was the com.
(probably in 1834), and Jose" Antonio Romero the first majordomo. Figueroa,
as I have said elsewhere, issued some orders for the formation of a rancho for
the support of the church. St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS., ii. 334-5. For
Sta Cruz there are full inventories in 1S35. Total, $84,334. Sta Cruz, Lib.
Mision, MS., 1-3; St. Pap., Miss., MS., v. 54. Secularization was deemed com-,
plete on Dec. 1st, at which time $10,576 had been distributed in effects to the
Ind. Id., ix. 66-7. Ignacio del Valle was to receive a gratuity of $300 for
his services as com. Id., ix. 69; Sta Cruz, Parroquia, MS., 20. Juan Gon-
zalez was the maj. of this Pueblo de Figueroa. Savage, Doe., MS., i. 20.
Nicolas Alviso was the first maj. in charge of Soledad, where he had perhaps
been com. as well. Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil., MS., lxxx. 10. The inventory
of Aug. showed a total of $47,297. St. Pap., Miss., MS., v. 57. At S. Juan
Bautista the aggregate value was put down as $138,973, after $8,439 had been
distrib. to the Ind.; and the debt was only $250. Id., vi. 17-18. Tiburcio
Castro was the maj. and apparently the com., there being some trouble both
with the Ind. and the padre. Id., x. 15-16; St. Pap., Miss, and Colon., MS.,
ii. 342-3.
No secularization was yet attempted at Sta Clara, though many neophytes
were given licenses of emancipation. Arch. Arzob., MS., v. pt ii. 14; Vallejo,
Doc, MS., iii. 17. Neither is there any record of secularization at S. Jo:;e.
In the inventories of July the San Francisco property was valued at $67,227,
the buildings being $33,969; and there was $7,222 of debt. St. Pap., Miss.,
MS., vi. 19-20; Vallejo, Doc, MS., xxxi. 220. The inventory is very complete
in detail. Com. Estudillo, having trouble with P. Gutierrez, was replaced for
a while by Ignacio del Valle; and Gumecindo Flores took charge in July
as maj. Sta Cruz, Arch,, MS., 74; St. Pap., Miss., MS., ix. 63; vi. 19;
Valle, Lo Pasado, MS., 10. There is nothing about S. Rafael in 1835 except
a grant of lands at Nicasio to ex-neophytes. Vallejo, Doc, MS., iii. 29. M.
G. Vallejo was the com. who secularized S. F. Solano, and appointed
Antonio Ortega as maj. There was a quarrel with P. Quijas, who went in hia
wrath to live at S. Rafael; and the Ind. were also somewhat troublesome on
accoimt of their desire to live in their old rancherias. Vallejo resigned in
Dec. Vallejo, Doc, MS., iii. 11-12, 40, 45, 47, 57; St. Pap., Miss, and Colon.,
MS., ii. 34o; Pinto, Doc, MS., i. 51. The foundation of Sonoma, really a
part of the secularization of this mission, is noticed elsewhere.
STATISTICS. 355
south, to have accepted the new system as the least
unfavorable that could be hoped for; and to have de-
voted themselves in good faith to the performance of
their new duties. Their cause was lost; but they had
made a long fight, and were personally glad to be re-
lieved of onerous duties; and their prospects were not
unfavorable for passing their last years in comfort.
It was unfortunate for the country that the system
was to be disturbed, and the old controversies were
to be to some extent revived.
The disturbance was to come from Mexico, where
radical changes in the form of government were ef-
fected in 1835, centralism as interpreted by the am-
bitious dictator, Santa Anna, gaining a victory over
federalism. This change, requiring but mere men-
tion for my present purpose, was in its general aspects
favorable to the church and to the friars; and one of
its immediate results was the passage by the congreso
constituyente on November 7th, of the following de-
cree: "Until the curates mentioned in article 2 of the
law of August 17, 1833, shall have taken possession,
the government will suspend the execution of the
other articles, and will maintain things in the state in
which they were before the said law was made." 17
This decree, practically repealing the secularization
law, and sure if enforced to create greater confusion
in the management of the missions than had ever ex-
isted before, was not known in California until after
the end of 1835, and therefore a presentation of its
effects belongs to the next half-decade of mission an-
nals.
Regular mission statistics cease almost entirelv with
the secularization in 1834, even for the establishments
that were not secularized until some years later. Noth-
ing but occasional, special, and fragmentary reports
are extant for the period from 1835 to 184G, all ob-
17 Decree of Nov. 7, 1835, in ArrUlaga, Recop. 1S35, p. 583-4; IlallecVs
Report, 154; Jones' 1 Report, 03; Hayes Mission Bool:, i. 232-3.
356 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
tamable data from which reports I shall give from
time to time as occasion may require. Therefore I
deem it best to present here for the period of four
years a statistical statement like that which I have
before appended to the annals of each decade. It is
not, however, likely that the reports were as carefully
made during the last few years as for earlier periods.
Most of the padres were careless in the matter, and a
few probably misrepresented the condition of their
missions in respect of agriculture and live-stock.
In 1830 there had been 26 missionaries in charge
of the 21 missions. In 1835 there were still 26, since
10 Zacatecanos had come to take the place of the 8
Fernandinos who died and the two who left the coun-
try. Only one, Padre Abella, was left of those who
came before 1800.
The neophyte population decreased from 18,000 to
15,000, only one mission, San Luis Key, showing a
gain. San Luis had still the largest population, and
as to the smallest there was close rivalry between
San Carlos and San Francisco. San Rafael showed
the largest percentage of loss, but the figures in this
case are not reliable, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz
coming next. Baptisms numbered 3,500, an average
of 875 against 1,300 for the past decade. Solano had
the largest number, 555, followed by San Jose with
414 and San Luis Key with 385; while Santa Cruz
had only 23, and San Francisco perhaps less. Deaths
numbered 4,250, an average of 1,062 against 1,445
for the past decade, San Jose having the largest num-
ber, 659, and San Francisco the smallest, 36.
In cattle there was a loss of 16,000 head, from 156,-
000 to 140,000; though 10 missions showed a gain,
chiefly in the north. Horses decreased from 16,600
to 12,000; though 8 missions gained. Sheep de-
creased from 150,000 to 130,000, there beings a grain
in 8 missions. San Luis Key still led in cattle and
sheep, closely followed by San Jose and Santa Clara.
The average yield of grain crops decreased from 57,-
SEASONS— PESTILENCE. 357
500 fanegas to 32,700 fanegas per year, or more than
40 per cent. Solano and San Jose were the only
missions that gained in their average ; while the larg-
est loss was 73 per cent at San Juan Capistrano.
The best total crop was 40,000 fanegas in 1831, and
the worst was 25,000 fanegas in 1833.
For this period of four years I may say, as I have
said of the last decade, that the losses in the different
branches represented in the statistics obtainable are
much less than would be expected from what is known
of the current mission history; but, as I have already
warned the reader, these statistics are much less reli-
able than those of former years.
I find no evidence that there occurred in the years
1831-5 any noticeable season of flood or drought;
though both have been rather vaguely ascribed to
that period by newspaper writers, who founded their
statements ostensibly on the recollections of old resi-
dents. As there is no agreement on the subject, the
statements are not worth particular reference, one of
the most widely circulated being that of a flood in
1832 — though a terrible drought is also ascribed to
the same year — in support of the theory of decennially
occurring inundations. Memoranda of Thomas O. Lar-
kin at Monterey show light rains in the autumn of
1833, heavy rains in February and April 1834, a dry
spring, with three days' rain after the middle of May,
and no heavy rains until the last half of December in
1835. 18 A terrible pestilence, an intermittent fever
often prevalent in that region, is reported as having
almost depopulated the whole valleys of the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin in 1833. Warner, with Ew-
ing Young and a party of trappers, passed up the val-
leys in the autumn of 1832, noting a dense Indian
population; but in the following summer when the
party returned the country was strewn with the re-
mains of the dead wherever a village had stood, and
1? Larkin in S. F. Chronicle, March 25, 185G, in Vallvjo, Doc, xxxvi. 214.
358 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
from the bead waters of the Sacramento to Kings Riv-
er only five living Indians were seen. The trappers
themselves were attacked by the fever, and some of
their servants died. There may be something of ex-
aggeration in this narrative; but there is no reason to
question the general accuracy of Warner's statement ;
especially as Vallejo wrote in May of the same year
that a pestilence, which he supposed to be the small-
pox, was causing fearful ravages on the northern
frontiers; and as Edwards in 1837 found on every
hand abundant and revolting signs of the pestilence,
which was described to him by Ewing Young from
personal observation. Young said he saw hundreds
lying dead in a single rancheria. 19
The topic of Indian affairs, as distinguished from mis-
sion annals, or relating mainly to the hostile acts of the
native gentiles or refugees, assumes no special impor-
tance in 1831-5, and may be noticed as appropriately
here as anywhere. Local alarms of minor importance
and generally unfounded need not be mentioned at all
in this connection, nor the constant but petty depre-
dations of prowling thieves on live-stock from one end
of the territory to the other. In 1833, from Febru-
ary to June, there was an excitement in the San
Diego district consequent upon the reported plan of
the neophytes to unite with the gentiles and seize the
mission property. There was some evidence that in-
vitations had been sent to the different missions ; and
that El Cajon was the rendezvous from which the at-
tack was to be made the 20th of June. It was also
rumored that the movement had a political significance,
being intended to support Echeandia's views respect-
19 Warner in Los Angeles Star, 1874; Hayes' Legal Hist. S. Diego, i. 34-7;
Yuba Co., Hist., 24. Day in Hesperian, ii. 2; May 18th, Vallejo to coman-
dantes, etc., in Vallejo, Doc, MS., ii i . 32; Edwards' Diary, MS., 27. Vallejo
says the contagion came first from the northern English settlements and later
from Ross. He recommends vaccination and other precautions. The travel-
ler from whom the account in the Hesperian was taken may have been War-
ner or another of his party.
INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 350
ing the distribution of mission lands. After much
correspondence between the governor and local au-
thorities, including calls upon the comandantes and
alcaldes for aid, a small force was sent to El Cajon
under corporal Gonzalez to seize Tajochi and other
ringleaders. No resistance was made, the Yuma al-
lies, if there had been any such, having run away.
Tajochi was sentenced after trial to two years of pub-
lic work, and three of his associates received shorter
terms of punishment. The political element was per-
haps imaginary; and it is not impossible that the plot
for a general revolt was equally so. 20 Palomares and
Bojorges, old Indian-fighters, mention rather vaguely
some expeditions from San Jose out into the valleys
the same year, in one of which the name Calaveras
was applied to a battle-field on which thirty unburied
bodies of the foe were left. This is partially confirmed
by a report in the archives of an expedition by Regi-
dor Peralta from San Jose, in which he killed twenty-
two Moquelumnes in November. 21
Complaints were frequent of depredations commit-
ted near each of the southern missions in 1834, and
especially at San Gabriel. The Indians went so far
as to steal the holy vessels used at the rancho of San
Bernardino, and to hold Padre Estenega as prisoner
for a while when he went there to protest. Lieuten-
ant Araujo and others connected with the Hijar col-
only were supposed to be in some way implicated in
the troubles here, referred to in current correspond-
ence as a 'revolt,' in which four or five Indians seem
to have been killed.' 22 This was in October, and at
the end of December San Bernardino was attacked
20 Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 89, 117-23; Id., Ben. Mil, lxxv. 5-8; lxxix.
13-14; Id., Ben. Pre/, y Juzg., v. 39; Id., Aug., i. 99-100; xi. 3, 9.
21 Palomares, Mem., MS., 32-8; Bojorges, Recuerdos, MS., 9-11; Dept.
St. Pap., Ben. Pre/, y Juzg., MS., i. 15, v. 45; S. Jost, Arch., MS., v. 21.
Peralta met Joaquin Joven (Evving Young) and his cattle-thieves, also a party
of Frenchmen.
21 Dept. St. Pap., MS., iii. 175-205; Id., Ben. Mil, lxxxviii. 14-17. An
expedition against the Navajos by citizens of Los Angeles is mentioned in
Januan;. Id., Aug., i. 139, 141.
360 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
again, the buildings were sacked and burned, and sev-
eral persons killed, wounded, or captured, the surviv-
ors taking refuge at San Gabriel or the other ranchos.
The excitement was great in January and February ;
but the records afford but slight information about
details or results. 23 The campaigns of Vallejo and
Figueroa in the north, and their bloody battles with
the fierce Satiyomes near Santa Rosa, which must
have occurred in 1834 if at all, I have noticed else-
where, expressing my opinion that, if not purely im-
aginary, these events as related by several writers
were grossly exaggerated. 24 I may also allude to the
hostilities said to have accompanied the founding of
Sonoma with like incredulity.
In 1835 Vallejo seems to have marched northward
from Sonoma to aid the chief, Solano, in reducing the
rebellious Yolos. 25 He had in view also an expedition
to the Tulares in July; but it was given up. 26 Rob-
bers from the Tulares gave great trouble at San Jose
and the adjoining region; and it appears that the
citizens became somewhat too fond of making raids in
that direction, and were apt to make no distinction
between horse-thieves and inoffensive women and
children. Figueroa was obliged to issue strict orders
to prevent outrages. 27 The native inhabitants of San
Nicolas Island in the Santa Barbara Channel are said
23 Dept. St. Pap., MS., iv. 1-3; St. Pap., Sac, MS., xii. 6-8, being reports
to Figueroa with calls for aid. This and other similar events will be noticed
somewhat more fully in local annals.
21 See chap. ix. of this vol. The writers who narrate this affair are there
named. I may be in error; but I do not believe that such an event, especial-
ly as it involved the death of a dozen soldiers, could have occurred without
leaving some slight trace in the archives. The killing of even a single soldier
in an Indian fight of those days was a very startling event.
25 Vallejo, Report on County Names, 1850, p. 532, in (7a/., Journal of Senate,
1850. Charles Brown claims to have accompanied an expedition apparently
identical with this. He says the force consisted of 60 Californians, 22 foreign-
ers, and 200 Indians, lasting nearly throe weeks in the rainy season. 100
captives were taken, and some acts of fiendish barbarity were committed by
Solano and his men. Narrator was wounded.
2G Vallejo, J Joe, MS., iii. 55, 59. Letter of Vallejo and Figueroa.
27 Dept. St. Pap., 8. Jose', MS., iv. 164-5. Osio, Hist. Gal, MS., 244-6,
is disposed to blame Figueroa for his leniency toward Indians, which to some
extent accounted for their depredations.
NATIVE MARAUDERS. 361
to have been removed in 1835 to the main, with the
exception of one woman, who was found and brought
over eighteen years later. 28 At San Luis Rey a plot
was revealed to capture no less a personage than the
governor when he should arrive from the north. An
examination of arrested plotters in April indicated,
however, nothing more serious than a design to protest
against the granting of Temecula rancho, which the
Indians claimed as their own property. 29
While Indian hostilities were thus for the most
part trifling as recorded, yet in one phase of the sub-
ject they were much more serious than could be made
to appear from a series of petty local items, even if all
those items were extant, which is far from being the
case. The constant depredations of renegade neo-
phytes, in alliance with gentile bands, and instigated
by New Mexican vagabond traders and foreign hunt-
ers, kept the country in a state of chronic disquietude
in these and later years, being the most serious obsta-
cle to progress and prosperity. Murders of gente de
razon were of comparatively rare occurrence, but in
other respects the scourge w T as similar to that of the
Apache ravages in Sonora and Chihuahua. Over a
large extent of country the Indians lived mainly on
the flesh of stolen horses, and cattle were killed for
their hides when money to buy liquor could not be
less laboriously obtained by the sale of other stolen
articles. The presence of the neophytes and their
intimate relations with other inhabitants doubtless
tended to prevent general attacks and bloody massa-
cres, as any plot was sure to be revealed by some-
body; but they also rendered it wellnigh impossible
to break up the complicated and destructive system
of robbery. Far be it from me to blame the Ind-
ians for their conduct; for there was little in their
28 Nidever's Life and Adventures, MS., GS-72. Sparks and Willinms were
among the men who removed the Indians in 1835, as they stated to Nidever,
who himself found the woman in 1 853.
™Dept. St. Pap., Ben. Mil, MS., lxxx. 13-19.
362 MISSION AND INDIAN AFFAIRS.
past training or present treatment by white men to
encourage honest industry. 30
30 Davis, Glimpses of the Past, MS. , 282-9, relates at some length the ex-
ploits of Estanislao and Yoscolo, two ex-neophyte chiefs. Yoscolo made a
revolt at Sta Clara, seized 200 Indian girls from the nunnery, took large num-
bers of cattle, and went to the Mariposa region to join Estanislao, who had
ran away before. Vallejo made an expedition against them, but was outgen-
eralled, by the Indians. Later Yoscolo made another successful raid on the
missions, and retired with his force to the Sta Cruz mountains, where he was
soon defeated after a hard battle, and his head exhibited on a pole at Sta
Clai^a. There is much confusion evidently in the events thus outlined; but
there is probably some foundation of fact besides what is recorded in a pre-
vious chapter about Estanislao and Vallejo's campaign.
CHAPTEK XIII.
MARITIME, COMMERCIAL, AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS.
1831-1835.
Annual Lists of Vessels on the Coast — Revenue Statistics— Smug-
gling Items — Seizure of the 'Loriot' — Commercial Regulations —
Victoria and Bandini — Contraband — Ports— Bandini and Angel
Ramirez — A Disappointed Inspector of Customs — Fur Trade — Salt
— Abel Stearns' Operations at San Pedro — Treasury Officials —
Comisarios — Bandini, Gomez, Gonzalez, Estrada, and Herrera —
Minor Revenue Officers — Local Items — Financial Correspond-
ence — Statistics — Municipal Funds — Taxation — Tithes — Plan of
Ways and Means — Alphabetical List of Vessels.
Nineteen vessels were on the coast in 1831, in-
cluding one launched this year from a California port,
most of them laden with goods from different lands,
chieflv from Boston, to be exchanged in the regular
way for hides and tallow. 1 Respecting the fleet of
this year, as to a great extent of most others at this
period, we have to content ourselves with the vessels'
names, those of their officers in most cases, and various
items of destination, nationality, tonnage, cargo, and
dates, collected from many sources and embodied as
1 See list for 1831-5 in this chapter. Vessels of 1831: Ayacucho, Baikal,
California, Catalina, Convoy, Dryad, Eliza, Fanny, Fibian, Globe (?), Guada-
lupe, Harriet, Lconor, Louisa, Marcus, Margarita, Pocahontas, Urup, Vol-
unteer, Wliah'hound (?), and Win Little. The Guadalupe was a schooner of 6
tons, framed by Joseph Chapman at S. Gabriel, hauled in carts to S. Pedro,
where she was put together and launched. Robinson, Life in Cal., 100, was
present at the launching, and describes her as the second vessel built in Cal.
Warner, Remin., MS., 63-7, says she was built in 1831-2 for Wolfskill,
Yount, and other otter-hunters. He calls her the Refugio.
Customs revenue at S. Francisco for 8 months in 1831, $2,419. Unzueta,
Informe, doc. 9. Revenue at S. Diego, June 1830 to June 1831, §389.
Mexico, Mem. Hacienda, 1832, doc. 3; Prieto, Rentas, 204, doc. 2.
(3G3)
364 MARITIME, COMMERCIAL, AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS.
before in a list note. What adventures the traders
had, if any; what obstacles they encountered; what
goods they smuggled; what duties they paid; what
profits they gained — must be left to the imagination.
There is nothing to indicate that they had any es-
pecial difficulty in obtaining cargoes on account of the
current political disturbances, or that controversies on
commercial topics arose with Victoria.
The fleet of 1832 numbered twenty-four vessels, of
which four were old acquaintances, seven were whalers,
and five doubtful names from the lists of Spence and
Hayes. 2 In several respects available items about
these vessels are even less complete than before; but
a few of these items, in the absence of maritime top-
ics more exciting, may be noticed as follows: The
Pocahontas carried away the exiled governor, Victoria,
with some companions in misfortune, including Padre
Peyri. The Waverly brought padres Bachelot and
Short, who had been exiled by protestant influence
from the Hawaiian Islands, and who spent several
years in California as already related. Captain Sum-
ner on touching at Santa Barbara for water was ar-
rested with his officers, and his vessel put under a
guard; but investigation revealing no cause of suspi-
cion, he was permitted to sail after a few days. The
Newcastle brought Thomas O. Larkin as a passenger,
and from this year a resident. The whaler Wm
Tliompson, after obtaining fresh supplies at San Fran-
cisco, came back into port a few days after sailing with
a part of her crew in a state of mutiny. By order
of General Zamorano, aid was rendered to restore
obedience; the mutineers were put in irons; and four
deserters from another vessel were added to the crew;
but the territorial treasury could not bear the expense
2 Vessels of 1832: American, Anchorite, Ayacuclio, Balance, Bolivar, Cal-
ifornia, Chalcedony, Crusader, Don Quixote (?), Friend, Josephine (?), Jdvcn
Victoriano, Newcastle, J'fanf, Phcebe. (?), Pocahontas, Roxa na, Singapartan,
Spytf), Tranquilina, Urup, Victoria (?), Waverly, awl Wm Thompson.
Customs revenue at S. Francisco for the year ending June 30, 1S32,$30 (?).
Prielo Rentas. 204, doc. 2.
FLEET OF 1S33. 365
of sending the criminals to San Bias, as was desired
by the captain. Finally the Bolivar, under a permit
to purchase horses for coin at San Francisco by pay-
ing tonnage dues, managed to smuggle goods to the
amount of $10,000, Padre Yiader of Santa Clara be-
ing the purchaser, if we may credit the charges of
Alferez Vallejo.
There were thirty-one vessels in the fleet of 1833,
including six whalers and live doubtful names. 3 The
Catalina, a Mexican brig, brought from Cape San Lu-
cas in January Figueroa, the new governor, and the
ten padres Zacatecanos, carrying away in May Ex-
governor Echeandfa, Congressman Juan Bandini, and
Captain Barroso. The Facio brought Don Juan Fors-
ter on his first visit to California, and also brought
the news that Gomez Pedraza had occupied the pres-
idential chair. The Volunteer on approaching San
Francisco defeated in a race the Ayacucho, thought
to be the fastest sailer on the coast. So states Davis,
who was on the Volunteer; and the same writer re-
cords the festivities attending the marriage of Thomas
0. Larkin on board the same vessel at Santa Barbara.
This bark also brought reports of a privateer on the
coast with hostile intent, but nothing came of it.
The only other vessel requiring special mention was
the Loriot, which, by reason of alleged otter-catching
and other smuggling operations, was seized at San
Francisco in September by Alferez Sanchez. The
sails were put on shore to prevent flight, but the rud-
der could not be removed. The cargo was transferred
by water from the Yerba Buena anchorage to the
presidio landing, and thence, as rapidly as one small
cart could carry it, to Vallejo's house, where Super-
cargo Thompson was at first confined. Soon he w^as
released on bail, w 7 ith John Peed on the bond, and in
3 Vessels of 1833: Alert [1), Ayacucho, Baikal, Barnstable (?), Bolivar (?),
California, Catalina, Chalcedony, Charles Eyes, Crusader, Don Quixote, Dryad,
Enriqueta{1), Facio, Fakeja, Friends, General Jackson, Harriet Blanchard,
Helvetius, Isabel, Kitty, Layoda, Leonidus (?), Leonor, Loriot, Margarita,
North America, Polifemo, lioxana, Sta Barbara, Volunteer.
336 MARITIME, COMMERCIAL, AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS.
November, after Judge Jose Antonio Carrillo at Los
Angeles had considered the case, both captain and
vessel were permitted to depart, John C. Jones hav-
ing given bonds for submission to the results of a sub-
sequent trial. Of final results nothing is known.
Jones, owner of several of the vessels trading at this
time from Honolulu, was United States consul for
the Hawaiian Islands.
Thirty-two vessels are named as being in Cali-
fornia ports in 1834, 4 a year in which the hicle-and-
tallow trade was more brisk than usual, in consequence
perhaps of the unwonted slaughter of mission cattle.
Items of revenue as given in my